A group of Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) whistleblowers claims Governor Tim Walz has threatened employees and forced them to go “underground.”
The Minnesota Staff Fraud Reporting Commentary (MSFRC), an X account representing over 480 current DHS employees, alleges Governor Walz is “100 percent responsible for the massive fraud in Minnesota,” stating that warnings about Somali fraud schemes were ignored and whistleblowers faced retaliation.
“Tim Walz is THREATENING whistleblowers. We do not feel safe,” the MSFRC account stated on social media Wednesday evening.
The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, chaired by Republican State Rep. Kristin Robbins, established a whistleblower portal earlier this year to collect tips on potential fraud within state programs. Since its creation, the committee has received over 700 whistleblower responses, including reports from individuals receiving services and providers who claim they were previously ignored by DHS.
The allegations center on a widespread fraud scandal involving over $1 billion in taxpayer funds, primarily linked to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which allegedly operated schemes through more than 200 child nutrition program sites. Federal authorities have indicted 86 people in connection with the fraud, 79 of whom are of Somali descent. Current and former federal sources indicate that some fraudulently obtained funds may have been diverted to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked terror group in Somalia, prompting a U.S. Treasury investigation under Secretary Scott Bessent.
Robbins revealed Wednesday that whistleblower tips directed to GOP leadership have not been forwarded to DHS or Democrat committee members, citing concerns whistleblowers would stop reporting if their identities were disclosed. Instead, the tips have been routed to more trusted investigators, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“To date, we have not because there is no trust,” Robbins told reporters. “They’ve had the power to investigate for at least seven years—longer—and the whistleblowers come to me after they’ve already been to the department, after they’ve already been to the attorney general, and they’ve been generally ghosted.”
Governor Walz responded indignantly to local reports, posting on X: “this is outrageous.” He added, “I expect my Republican colleagues to attack me in an election year, but to actively cover up fraud in an attempt to further a political agenda is beyond the pale.”
The MSFRC account countered with: “Words of a corrupt ‘governor,’ trying to deflect from his own failures and knows his political career is DONE.” The account also stated Walz retaliated against whistleblowers, including staff who were reassigned after reporting fraud.
The group noted some DHS employees fear retaliation against State Senator John Hoffman, who was shot during a June shooting spree along with his wife. The gunman, Vance Boelter, described himself as “a conservative who voted for President Donald Trump and was strongly against abortion rights” and claimed Walz instructed him to kill officials, including U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
“We are NOT into conspiracy theories but the only DFL member who ever listened to us was John Hoffman,” MSFRC wrote. “We spoke to him in roughly late 2022. And what happened? Perhaps that’s what makes some of our employees nervous? We have no trust in Tim Walz.”
The account reiterated whistleblowers report fraud to DHS only to face staff reassignment, stating they feel unsafe speaking out under Walz’s leadership.
