Is Tim Walz turning a blind eye to massive fraud in Minnesota?

That’s exactly the question posed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in a remarkable article published today under the headline:

Many millions lost. Is the Walz administration taking fraud and waste seriously enough?

The answer to this rhetorical question is obviously “no.” We’ve been tracking the scandals under his watch in our Scandal Tracker 2024 feature.

The Star Tribune includes quotes from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Auditor, Judy Randall, to the effect that her reports and recommendations aren’t being taken seriously by the Walz Administration:

“I have seen increasing rejection of our findings and recommendations. Or denial or dismissiveness or excuses,” Randall, who’s worked in the office for 26 years, said in an interview. “There’s definitely a shoot-the-messenger feeling.”

The Star Tribune notes that the Minnesota House Republicans held a press conference on the subject earlier this week:

“[Walz] has got to take responsibility,” said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring. “If those in his administration and the commissioners that he has hand-selected are not willing to take responsibility, then he needs to.”

Republicans spoke in front of an info graphic that illustrates the scope of the various frauds conducted during Walz’ watch:

The roots of the magic money tree have produced a considerable amount of poisoned fruit over the past five years. The latest scandal to break involves autism clinics.

Deena Winter of the MN Reformer wrote on Wednesday about the subject, reporting that:

The state of Minnesota is investigating 15 autism providers and has already completed other investigations, withheld payments due to credible fraud allegations and forwarded cases to law enforcement “when appropriate,” according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services [DHS].

She notes that the state’s autism program, where services are provided by unlicensed companies, has grown over the past five years from $6 million to $192 million in state payments. On a side note, Winter recently won a journalism award for her 2023 report linking Feeding Our Future defendants to taxpayer-funded programs overseen by DHS.

The Star Tribune ran its own story on the autism clinic investigation Wednesday night.

Yesterday, AlphaNews followed up on efforts by state attorney general Keith Ellison to go after Medicaid fraudsters. The effort was dubbed PITSTOP-66. AlphaNews writes:

[T]he “PIT” in PITSTOP stands for Provider, Interpreter, and Transportation. Additionally, the number 66 is the county code for Rice County, where much of the fraud originated. As such, the PITSTOP-66 investigation is focused on uncovering individuals who are fraudulently billing Medicaid for transportation, interpreter, and other services.

Rice County? This south Metro exurban area features prominently in recent scandals. Back in May, Ellison charged eight individuals in an alleged $2.6 million Medicaid fraud. Five were listed under Faribault addresses. Faribault serves as the county seat for Rice County.

Two of the 70 individuals charged in the Feeding Our Future case are from Faribault. Both pled guilty in the case.

In the recently concluded Feeding Our Future fraud trial in Federal court, no fewer than ten (10) food distribution locations in Faribault were listed in the master list of trial exhibits for the case.

Back in March 2022, I looked into Feeding Our Future operations in Faribault. The largest food distribution site in Faribault was at this commercial building located at the edge of town and operated by the nonprofit Somali Community Resettlement Services (SCRS).

No one associated with the nonprofit has been accused of any wrongdoing in the Feeding Our Future case or any other fraud. However, the Faribault address shown above appears in seven (7) separate trial exhibits in the recent Feeding case.

During the trial, Deena Winter reported that SCRS received $1.1 million from the free-food programs.

To finish on two positive notes:

The city includes a fleur-de-lis in its seal to honor its founder, the French-Canadian Jean-Baptiste Faribault.

Faribault is hosting the Blue Collar Music Festival on August 2 and 3.