DHS, FBI Surge Agents to Minnesota in Wake Of Massive Fraud Reports

A recent increase in the number of federal law enforcement officers operating in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents, according to officials familiar with the investigations.

President Donald Trump has previously connected his administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota to a series of fraud cases tied to government assistance programs, many of which have involved defendants with roots in Somalia, ABC7 reports.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel announced this week that federal operations in Minnesota would be expanded.

The announcements followed the release of a video Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley, who alleged that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud.

Tikki Brown, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, said at a news conference Monday that state regulators were taking the allegations seriously, ABC7 said.

Noem posted on social media that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.” Patel said the goal was to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

Minnesota has faced heightened scrutiny for years over Medicaid fraud, including the roughly $300 million pandemic-era case involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors have described it as the largest COVID-19–related fraud scheme in the United States, alleging that defendants exploited a state-administered, federally funded program intended to provide meals for children.

The investigation began during the administration of Joe Biden. In 2022, federal prosecutors charged 47 individuals, a figure that has since grown to 78 as the case has expanded.

To date, 57 defendants have been convicted, either through guilty pleas or trial verdicts. Court records show that most of those charged are of Somali descent, noted ABC7.

Authorities say several additional fraud investigations remain ongoing, including new allegations centered on child care centers.

In interviews and press releases over the summer, federal prosecutor Joe Thompson estimated that total losses across multiple fraud cases in Minnesota could exceed $1 billion. Earlier this month, another federal prosecutor alleged that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funding provided to 14 programs in the state since 2018 may have been misappropriated.

Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota have largely focused on the Somali community in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, which is the largest such community in the United States. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota, 85 of the 98 defendants charged in cases involving alleged fraud tied to child nutrition, housing assistance, and autism programs are Somali Americans.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made the arrest announcement on Monday. Bondi said additional prosecutions are expected as the investigations continue.

Her announcement followed the release of a series of videos by Shirley. “[Nick Shirley’s] work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi said in an X statement late Monday.

“@TheJusticeDepartment has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals — 85 of Somali descent — and more than 60 have been found guilty in court,” she continued. “We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”

Bondi went on to describe several of the cases they’d already prosecuted, including the Feeding Our Future scheme and a connected juror bribery case — a situation which, as Bondi noted, was “not unlike what you would see in the corrupt Somali judicial system.”

In September, a media release from the Department of Justice alleged that 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan received nearly $500,000 for her involvement in a $14 million autism fraud case.

“From November 2019 through December 2024, Asha Hassan and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the EIDBI autism services program. Hassan formed and registered Smart Therapy LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State in November 2019. Hassan listed herself as the sole owner of Smart Therapy,” said the release.

“Shortly after forming the company, Hassan enrolled Smart Therapy as a provider agency in the EIDBI program. …Hassan also enrolled Smart Therapy in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future,” it added.

Clintons Agree to Provide House Testimony Regarding Epstein

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to an aide to the panel.

The announcement comes days before a scheduled House vote on whether to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress for previously declining to comply with subpoenas in the investigation. Committee leaders had announced plans to advance contempt charges after the couple missed earlier deposition deadlines.

Attorneys for the Clintons said the couple will appear for sworn depositions on mutually agreed-upon dates and requested that the full chamber delay or withdraw the contempt vote. In a statement, representatives for the Clintons said they had “negotiated in good faith” and intended to participate in testimony.

“They negotiated in good faith. You did not,” spokesmen for the Clintons said in a statement. “They told under oath what they know, but you did not care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there.”

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has said that in-person testimony is necessary for the panel’s inquiry, which focuses on the Clintons’ relationships with Epstein and information they may have about his activities. The committee has subpoenaed other individuals and documents as part of its investigation.

He also rejected any special caveats demanded by the former first couple.

“The Clintons are in contempt of Congress,” Comer posted on X. “Their attorneys’ latest letter makes clear they still expect special treatment because of their last name. The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas.”

No dates have yet been finalized for the depositions, and the committee said it will continue negotiating with the Clintons’ legal team on scheduling and logistics.

The Clintons are not accused of any wrongdoing, but their long-standing social and professional connections to Epstein have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers seeking details as part of a broader review of how Epstein and his associates operated.