After six years in office and hundreds of millions lost to fraud, Gov. Tim Walz announced a new anti-fraud initiative Friday, raising questions about why it took so long for the governor to act.
With just under two years left before the next gubernatorial election, Walz says he wants to “turn the dial” on the state’s approach to combating fraud.
“It’s simply unacceptable. It’s maddening, and it makes myself and Minnesotans angry about this,” Walz said.
The plan includes creating a centralized fraud investigation unit under the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), expanded use of artificial intelligence for fraud detection, and increased penalties for financial crimes targeting public assistance programs.
“While we are a generous state, we need to be very clear … these are not just financial crimes against the state and the taxpayers of Minnesota; these are crimes against children,” Walz said during a live press conference with invited media outlets.
Notably, Alpha News was not among those invited to attend.
Critics point out that the fraud Walz now looks to tackle has flourished during his tenure, including high-profile cases involving programs designed to support children, such as food assistance and autism services.
Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R- East Grand Forks, issued a statement in response to Walz’s announcement:
“Minnesotans are rightfully outraged by the sheer amount and frequent reports of fraudulent use of their tax dollars. The executive action taken today by Governor Walz is too little and too late. It remains to be seen if Walz can accept recommendations by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, hold his commissioners accountable, enforce the current laws and roles to combat fraud, or work with Republicans to pass and approve legislation that will need bipartisan support to pass. That’s the true test of whether Walz and Democrats are going to take fraud prevention efforts seriously.”
Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, also responded to Walz’s new fraud proposals in a statement:
“Creating a fraud bureau overseen by the same administration that allowed over a billion dollars in fraud means today’s executive action is nothing but smoke and mirrors. We need real change to crack down on fraud, and that starts with a process that is truly independent of the leadership that allowed fraud to run rampant over the last five years. House Republicans will be unveiling a comprehensive fraud package that treats this as the serious problem it is, and includes meaningful accountability for fraudsters and agencies who have failed to protect Minnesotans’ tax dollars.”
In response to Republican plans to introduce their own anti-fraud proposals and their criticisms accusing his administration of enabling fraud, Walz, who has governed with a DFL-controlled House and Senate since January 2023, said, “We put these things forward; they did not support this last time around. But whatever they have forward, we’re working with them on that.”
During the press conference, Walz signed an executive order to establish the new centralized fraud unit. A major component of the initiative is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance fraud detection.
“We’re going to use those on fraud detection across state agencies in a way that has not been done before,” he said.
Walz’s plan also includes expanding the Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud unit and giving state agencies greater authority to stop suspicious payments.
“The ability to be more skeptical and the ability to stop payments if they’re skeptical before we go on … we want to make sure we give them that authority to be more proactive,” Walz said.
Walz also proposed increasing penalties for financial crimes involving public assistance programs.
“I’m going to ask that we increase the penalties on these financial fraud crimes against public assistance,” he said, adding, “We’ve got an opportunity here to again turn the dial [and] continue to be a state that is generous, kind, and caring, but also recognizes if there are things we can do.”
According to the Center of the American Experiment’s “scandal tracker,” Minnesota has lost an estimated $545 million to waste and fraud during Walz’s tenure.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
