Vice President JD Vance announced June 8 that he is referring Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a possible criminal investigation into allegations that they failed to stop widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs.
Vance, who chairs the White House anti-fraud task force, linked the referral to a 205-page report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that accused Walz, Ellison, and other senior Minnesota officials of knowing about fraud concerns for years but not taking action.
“Minnesota state officials are not above the law,” Vance wrote in a post on X, “and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and [intimidated] whistleblowers, they must face justice.”
I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation. Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice. https://t.co/EatSBh9Gh6 pic.twitter.com/7JeFcgkTV0
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 9, 2026
The report alleges that state failures date back to 2019 and have contributed to an estimated $300 million in federal child nutrition funds and potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds being “lost” or placed at “serious risk.” The report also claims whistleblowers were ignored or retaliated against for raising concerns about fraud in federally funded programs.
Minnesota officials have defended their record and criticized the federal actions as partisan. In a statement to The Hill, Ellison called Vance’s referral a “political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents.”
Minnesota has faced months of scrutiny over alleged fraud schemes involving state-administered social services. One major case involved Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit whose founder was sentenced in May to more than 40 years in prison for leading a scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Zeale News previously reported, federal prosecutors said Feeding Our Future fraudulently obtained and disbursed more than $250 million in taxpayer dollars through fake meal sites, shell companies, and false invoices. Prosecutors said the money — designated for federal child nutrition — was used to fund luxury vehicles, real estate, and international travel.
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