Republican attorney general candidate Ron Schutz challenged Attorney General Keith Ellison’s record on fraud during a press conference Thursday, pointing to the Feeding Our Future scandal, Medicaid fraud prosecutions and federal reviews of the attorney general’s office while outlining how he would pursue fraud cases differently if elected.
“The purpose of this press conference is to address Keith Ellison’s assertion that he’s a fraud fighter,” Schutz said.
Schutz began with an infamous December 2021 meeting Ellison held with several people, including individuals later indicted in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
Schutz cited a recording of the meeting in which participants discussed political donations, influence, and their frustrations with the Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) oversight of federal nutrition funding.
“We are willing to put our money where our mouths are,” Schutz quoted one participant as saying. Another portion cited by Schutz discussed “putting our dollars in the right place” and supporting candidates who would “fight to protect our interests.”
During the meeting, Ellison said he was frustrated with state agencies and told those attending they could contact him directly regarding their concerns, according to Schutz.
Nine days later, Schutz said Ellison received four maximum campaign contributions totaling $10,000 from people connected to the meeting. One contribution was returned in May 2025, while three others were returned at the end of 2025.
Schutz pointed to the meeting and subsequent contributions as part of his broader argument that Ellison’s record surrounding Feeding Our Future undercuts his claim to be an aggressive fraud fighter.
That history, Schutz argued, conflicts with comments Ellison previously made during an MPR debate in which he said no one at the meeting gave him a campaign contribution and that he rejected discussion of donations because it was an official meeting.
“Well, that’s absolutely false. Absolutely false,” Schutz said. “You can listen to the tape. You can read the transcript of the tape.”
The Republican candidate also challenged Ellison’s claims about the performance of the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Citing a KSTP investigation of 250 cases handled by the office, Schutz said 144 resulted in stays of imposition and another 70 in stays of adjudication. He said plea arrangements allowed many defendants to avoid jail time or a lasting felony conviction and raised questions about Ellison’s characterization of the office’s fraud convictions.
“Nobody ends up with a felony on their record, nobody goes to jail, and hardly anybody pays any money,” Schutz said.
Turning to what he would do differently, Schutz said an attorney general’s office under his leadership would devote more resources to fraud enforcement and take a tougher approach to charging and plea agreements.
“We’re not going to have sweetheart plea deals,” he said. “We will aggressively charge cases to maximize potential for jail time.”
His proposal calls for pursuing four avenues at once: criminal cases against individuals, criminal cases against their companies, civil cases against the individuals, and civil cases against their companies.
Schutz argued that parallel civil cases provide another avenue to recover taxpayer money if criminal cases encounter evidentiary problems.
“There is a clear pathway to put these fraudsters in jail, and Keith Ellison has not done that,” Schutz said. “I will do that.”
Symone Harms
Symone Harms is a Media Production and Business Marketing student at Bethel University. She is actively involved in The Royals Investment Fund, The 25, theatre, and other leadership positions. She also cohosts Rooted, a podcast dedicated to being rooted in truth, growing in freedom, and prospering in life. A Minnesota native with a passion for storytelling and digital media, she aspires to a career in broadcasting as a news anchor and reporter.
