A tipline designed to collect allegations of fraud in Minnesota government entities received 530 submissions in its first week, according to Republican lawmakers.
On Tuesday, Republicans serving on the Fraud Prevention and State Government Oversight Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives held a press conference to talk about the committee’s work over the last several months.
The Fraud Committee, which was newly established at the beginning of this year, is chaired by Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, and maintains a GOP majority.
Among their efforts, the committee established an online portal at the end of March which allows Minnesotans to report allegations of fraud in state government and elsewhere. The portal acts as a centralized place for fraud committee staff to receive reports of alleged fraud, organize them, and forward those reports to the appropriate entities.
“In the first week of MNFraud.com, we had 530 submissions that, honestly, I haven’t had time to go through,” Robbins announced at Tuesday’s press conference. “That’s one of our big projects [after the legislative session ends] is to get through all those submissions.”
Robbins later told Alpha News that the tipline has received 657 total submissions since it was unveiled in March.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Robbins noted that her committee continues to meet with fraud whistleblowers and has referred serious allegations of fraud to authorities.
Also highlighted at the press event was a bipartisan letter signed by every member of the fraud committee that calls for an end to legislatively-named grants. The GOP and DFL co-chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee issued a similar letter.
In Minnesota, state government primarily issues grants in two ways; through a competitive process, or by legislatively directing funds to go to a specific organization. The bipartisan letter signed by fraud committee members said using a competitive process provides better oversight and is more effective at accomplishing policy goals.
While Robbins said she did not know if legislators can be prevented from writing bills that direct funds to certain organizations, she noted that she has seen a significant reduction in the number of legislatively-named grants moving through the state legislature.
Republicans at the press conference also discussed their experience hearing from different state agencies, the bipartisan work to create a statewide Office of the Inspector General, and legislative proposals to increase oversight and accountability.
Looking forward, Robbins wants the fraud committee to become a normal part of the state legislature’s operations in St. Paul.
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.
