MINNESOTA – Officials charged with investigating the alleged widespread social-services fraud that bled Minnesota’s coffers say these schemes may have resulted in approximately $9 billion being stolen.
Federal prosecutors are claiming the social-services fraud that has permeated Minnesota in recent years, which has allegedly been carried out largely by members of the Somali community within the state, has resulted in approximately $9 billion in funds being stolen.
The latest figure, which serves as a nine-fold increase from the previously suspected $1 billion in stolen funds, stems from an alleged amalgamation of schemes targeting various state benefits and reimbursement programs.
A report from the New York Post emphasized the massive scale of the alleged fraud purportedly carried out largely by the state’s Somali community, highlighting the $9 billion dollar figure attached to the fraud investigation is “nearly equivalent to the entire economy of Somalia.”
On December 18th, First Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson commented on the ongoing fraud investigation within Minnesota, saying, “The magnitude cannot be overstated. What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud. Every day, we look under a rock and find a new $50 million fraud scheme.”
The programs targeted by these alleged schemes span from allocated funding for food assistance, healthcare, and even autism services, with prosecutors saying these perpetrators would go so far as establishing bogus shell companies to tap into various federally funded programs. To date, 92 individuals have been charged in connection with the numerous fraudulent schemes alleged to have been carried out within Minnesota.
One of the individuals caught up in the swirl of indictments is 27-year-old Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, with prosecutors saying he established a youth autism foundation where fraudulent claims of rendered therapy netted him approximately $6 million.
Another alleged fraudster, 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan, allegedly engaged in a similar autism services scheme that resulted in her pocketing $14 million on top of the half-a-million allegedly obtained through Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future program.
Thompson says that nearly two dozen individuals indicted in connection to the Feeding Our Future scheme, which investigators first caught wind of back in 2022, reportedly dipped into funding allocated for autism services via fraudulent means.
Of the nearly 100 people who’ve been charged with various social-services fraud as part of the ongoing investigation, 57 people have been convicted.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is up for reelection in 2026, has been heavily ridiculed over the widespread social-services fraud that occurred under his watch.
The alleged massive nature of fraud that has robbed taxpayer money in Minnesota has led to increased speculation that a third gubernatorial term is not in the cards for Walz.
Federal prosecutors are claiming the social-services fraud that has permeated Minnesota in recent years, which has allegedly been carried out largely by members of the Somali community within the state, has resulted in approximately $9 billion in funds being stolen.
The latest figure, which serves as a nine-fold increase from the previously suspected $1 billion in stolen funds, stems from an alleged amalgamation of schemes targeting various state benefits and reimbursement programs.
A report from the New York Post emphasized the massive scale of the alleged fraud purportedly carried out largely by the state’s Somali community, highlighting the $9 billion dollar figure attached to the fraud investigation is “nearly equivalent to the entire economy of Somalia.”
On December 18th, First Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson commented on the ongoing fraud investigation within Minnesota, saying, “The magnitude cannot be overstated. What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud. Every day, we look under a rock and find a new $50 million fraud scheme.”
The programs targeted by these alleged schemes span from allocated funding for food assistance, healthcare, and even autism services, with prosecutors saying these perpetrators would go so far as establishing bogus shell companies to tap into various federally funded programs. To date, 92 individuals have been charged in connection with the numerous fraudulent schemes alleged to have been carried out within Minnesota.
One of the individuals caught up in the swirl of indictments is 27-year-old Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, with prosecutors saying he established a youth autism foundation where fraudulent claims of rendered therapy netted him approximately $6 million.
Another alleged fraudster, 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan, allegedly engaged in a similar autism services scheme that resulted in her pocketing $14 million on top of the half-a-million allegedly obtained through Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future program.
Thompson says that nearly two dozen individuals indicted in connection to the Feeding Our Future scheme, which investigators first caught wind of back in 2022, reportedly dipped into funding allocated for autism services via fraudulent means.
Of the nearly 100 people who’ve been charged with various social-services fraud as part of the ongoing investigation, 57 people have been convicted.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is up for reelection in 2026, has been heavily ridiculed over the widespread social-services fraud that occurred under his watch.
The alleged massive nature of fraud that has robbed taxpayer money in Minnesota has led to increased speculation that a third gubernatorial term is not in the cards for Walz.
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