The U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday that it is sending a “strike team” to Minnesota to investigate potential fraud in the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) program.
“I am appalled at what we are hearing about potential fraud coming from numerous benefits programs in Minnesota. If there has been any related abuse of our UI systems, it will not be tolerated, and I trust our specialized strike team to get to the bottom of this and report their findings directly to me,” said Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
“Our mission to protect American workers remains unchanged, and I will not allow malicious actors to destroy the integrity of this trusted program,” she added.
The Department of Labor said its Employment and Training Administration’s Chicago regional field office informed the state of an onsite review of its benefit payment control operations and integrity functions, with a specific focus on ensuring fraud, waste, and abuse identified in Minnesota’s state programs are not present in UI.
Minnesota issued an estimated $262 million in improper unemployment payments during a three-year period from July of 2021 through June of 2024.
Minnesota’s unemployment benefits program had an improper payment rate of 8.25% across the three-year period; only 10 other states had lower improper payment rates during the same period.
Minnesota’s fraud crisis has been in the national spotlight over the last month, prompting investigations from the U.S. Department of Treasury and the House Oversight Committee.
Federal prosecutors say fraud in Minnesota has surpassed $1 billion as some state programs have been completely shut down due to widespread fraud.
President Donald Trump also announced that he plans to revoke certain deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota, since much of the fraud has been carried out by members of that community.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
