As Minnesota’s fraud scandals continue to be investigated by the federal government, former Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jodi Harpstead has been notified via letter that she is expected to sit for an in-person interview with the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Feb. 6, 2026.
A similar letter was issued to former DHS Commissioner Tony Lourey, who was asked to appear on Jan. 27, 2026.
As the investigation expands, other letters were sent the same day to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Minnesota DHS Assistant Commissioner Eric Grumdahl, former Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker, and other state officials.
In part, the letters from Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer to Harpstead and Lourey both state, “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating reports of widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs. As the former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, you have information that will assist the Committee’s investigation.”
“If you do not voluntarily appear for the interview, we will be forced to evaluate the use of the compulsory process,” the letters say.
This comes almost a year after Harpstead downplayed fraud concerns while appearing before a Minnesota Senate committee on Jan. 22, 2025.
In response to being asked why fraud keeps coming up “year after year,” she stated, “That’s why they call it human services, we would always expect to have to deal with some measure of fraud.”
Harpstead said the state would have to “spend taxpayer dollars to protect taxpayer dollars.”
“There’s a lot of rumors of fraud, more than there is actual fraud,” she added, stating later in the hearing that DHS’ inspector general was effectively deterring widespread fraud from occurring at DHS, like the kind seen in the Feeding Our Future scandal.
“My working theory is that our Office of the Inspector General is out there, they’re out there visiting, they’re out there overlooking the services that we provide and people know it, and they didn’t dare try to do that in our licensed or unlicensed services,” Harpstead said.
A little more than six months later, after Harpstead’s departure from the agency, the state moved to completely shut down a housing assistance program administered by DHS because “too many fraudulent, unqualified bad actors” were participating.
Then in September, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota indicted eight individuals for their alleged role in defrauding the program.
“Minnesota is drowning in fraud,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said at the time. “Many of the owners of Housing Stabilization Services companies had one or more other companies through which they billed other Medicaid programs such as the EIDBI autism program, the Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services program, the Integrated Community Support program, the Community Access for Disability Inclusion program, PCA services, and other Medicaid-waivered services.”
“The level of fraud in these programs is staggering. Unfortunately, our system of trust but verify no longer works. These programs have been abused over and over to the point where the fraud has overtaken the legitimate services,” added Thompson.
Prior to her appointment as DHS commissioner in August 2019, Harpstead served for several years as president and CEO of Lutheran Social Service, which is known for its involvement in refugee resettlement in Minnesota.
The former commissioner is frequently criticized by an X account identifying itself as nearly 500 staff members of Minnesota DHS.
“Jodi Harpstead is one of the biggest reasons why Minnesota has drowned in fraud and she has never been held accountable,” the account recently said.
The below video needs to be immortalized. Failed DHS commissioner Jodi Harpstead declaring fraud to be only a rumor and not worth addressing.
Jodi Harpstead is one of the biggest reasons why Minnesota has drowned in fraud and she has never been held accountable. https://t.co/P0SLZW0vwL
— Minnesota Staff Fraud Reporting Commentary (@Minnesota_DHS) December 11, 2025
