CaliToday (02/12/2025): In a stunning revolt from within his own administration, hundreds of employees at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) have publicly declared Governor Tim Walz "100% responsible" for the massive "Feeding Our Future" fraud scheme—the largest pandemic-era financial scandal in United States history.
In a scathing public statement released on the platform X, a coalition of more than 480 state employees accused Governor Walz of ignoring repeated warnings, obstructing internal reporting, and actively retaliating against civil servants who attempted to blow the whistle on the theft of over $1 billion in taxpayer funds.
The Scheme: Phantom Children and Luxury Cars
"Feeding Our Future," a non-profit established in 2016, ostensibly existed to provide meals to underprivileged children. However, investigators reveal that the organization became the vehicle for a staggering criminal enterprise.
According to prosecutors, dozens of bad actors fabricated rosters of children and established shell companies to claim reimbursement for millions of meals that were never served. Instead of feeding kids, the stolen tax dollars were allegedly laundered into luxury vehicles, foreign real estate, and high-end consumer goods.
To date, the Department of Justice has charged 78 suspects and secured at least 59 convictions, primarily involving individuals within Minnesota’s Somali community.
A Culture of Fear and "Optics"
DHS insiders paint a disturbing picture of the environment under Walz’s leadership. Employees claim they witnessed the fraud unfolding in real-time but were "silenced, threatened, and transferred" when they tried to flag the irregularities. The whistleblowers allege that leadership paralyzed the oversight process out of fear that investigating the fraud would look like they were targeting specific minority communities.
The cost of this negligence was astronomical. One specific homeless support program cited by the employees saw its payouts explode from $2.6 million in 2021 to a suspicious $104 million just one year later due to rampant, unchecked fraud.
"Land of 10,000 Frauds"
The political fallout has been swift and severe.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the House Majority Whip, condemned the administration, quipping that under the Governor's watch, Minnesota has transformed into the "Land of 10,000 Frauds."
President Trump also weighed in, branding the state a "money laundering capital" and emphasizing that the wave of prosecutions was the result of federal intervention, not state-level enforcement by Walz.
Walz's Defense and the Fight for a Third Term
In response to the mounting pressure, Governor Walz has attempted to downplay the scandal’s reach within his office. He has deflected blame toward President Trump and claimed credit for the legal crackdown, stating he is "responsible for putting people in jail"—a claim critics dispute, noting that federal authorities led the indictments.
However, the allegations from his own staff continue to mount. Whistleblowers further accuse Walz of weakening the legislative audit system and, in a chilling detail, even threatening the families of those who exposed the corruption.
This firestorm engulfs Walz as he campaigns for a third term as Governor—a feat not achieved in Minnesota since 1963. With the scandal widening and internal dissent spilling into the public eye, observers fear that the erosion of public trust could prove fatal to his administration's continuity.
Source: New York Post