Waste, fraud, and abuse have emerged as major topics this legislative session, and politicians at the capitol appear eager to take action.
For years, Minnesota has been beset by consistent revelations of waste, fraud, and abuse. In 2022, the discovery of the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme rocked the political world in Minnesota. In the years since, successive reports of waste, fraud, and abuse have pushed the issue to the forefront of the state’s political conversation.
While members of both political parties have expressed their desire to stop waste, fraud, and abuse, Republicans have been particularly vocal on the issue over the years. Additionally, the GOP has argued that Democrats in control of state government have not taken the matter seriously and should have acted earlier.
Following an FBI raid on two autism centers suspected of fraud, both parties have announced steps to address the issue.
At the beginning of January, Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order which established a state fraud investigations unit within the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and unveiled his legislative proposals to address fraud. A few weeks later, the House GOP unveiled a legislative agenda which proposed multiple ideas to stop fraud.
"I reject that," Gov. Walz says when asked on TPT why his administration didn't do more earlier to combat fraud.
"You're always going to see crime in this." pic.twitter.com/SpjAOa7gjk
— Anthony Gockowski (@AntGockowski) January 20, 2025
As such, Minnesotans can expect a lot of discussion about fraud, internal agency controls to prevent fraud, and many other related topics in the coming months.
Hearing highlights Department of Human Services fraud
Last week, the Minnesota Senate Committee on Human Services held a hearing on fraud in state government. In particular, the hearing came about in response to recent reports of roughly $100 million of waste, fraud, and abuse in state programs administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS) alone. Some estimate that Minnesota has lost over $500 million to waste, fraud, and abuse across all of state government since 2019.
At the hearing, DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead gave a presentation on fraud prevention within her agency’s programs. Among other things, she laid out steps her department takes to address and prevent fraud. Harpstead, who is leaving DHS next week, also urged lawmakers to pass Walz’s anti-fraud package.
Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, the co-chair of the committee, said “addressing waste, fraud, and abuse within the Minnesota Department of Human Services is my top priority. Every week, it seems we learn about millions of taxpayer dollars that are wasted on programs intended to help Minnesotans in need. This is theft, plain and simple.”
Minnesota DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead on the state's fraud problem: 'That's why they call it human services, we would always expect to have to deal with some measure of fraud.' pic.twitter.com/kBF0d43ta1
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) January 25, 2025
“As U.S. Attorney Andy Luger noted back in December, ‘Minnesota has a fraud problem,’ and it’s time for us to confront it directly,” he added.
New oversight committee to investigate fraud
On Monday, House Republicans held a press conference to highlight the work they hope to do with a new committee called the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee.
While the committee has not been formally created because the House is not yet organized, State Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, is set to become the chair of the fraud prevention committee. Speaking to the gathered press Monday morning, Robbins said the committee will investigate fraud, and claims of fraud, involving state government agencies.
The Maple Grove legislator stressed that the issue of combating fraud is bipartisan, and she hopes her Democratic colleagues will join the efforts of the committee. According to Robbins, the committee has already been contacted by over two dozen whistleblowers.
“This is not about politics; it’s about integrity and stewardship,” Robbins said in a statement. “The state’s failure to act sooner, combined with a refusal to even discuss these issues, has left Minnesotans vulnerable to future fraud. We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand.”
She also expressed frustration that a recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling, which found that Republicans do not have a quorum to transact business in the House, has delayed the work of the committee.
The Child-Care Assistance Program (CCAP), agency overpayments, medical transportation fraud, and the Feeding Our Future scandal are among the topics the committee wants to investigate. Robbins noted that the committee hopes to work with the whistleblowers, and those who come forward will receive full whistleblower protections.
The legislative session began on Jan. 14 and is scheduled to conclude in May. As such, state lawmakers will have months to enact their anti-fraud proposals.
However, the work of the Minnesota House of Representatives has been significantly delayed because of the ongoing standoff between Republicans and Democrats in that chamber.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
