Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Examines Alleged Fraud in Minnesota Welfare Programs

Fox News covers a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing focused on what the network characterizes as massive fraud across Minnesota’s welfare and social service programs. According to the hearing testimony, federal prosecutors estimate that half or more of the $18 billion spent since 2018 across 14 Minnesota welfare programs may have been lost to fraud—potentially ranking among the largest welfare frauds in American history.

The hearing proceeds through three main sections: Minnesota’s prior warnings about fraud risks, the alleged failure of Democrat leadership to enforce existing safeguards, and the mechanics of the fraud schemes themselves.

Prior Warnings and Ignored Audits

According to the hearing testimony, Minnesota was warned repeatedly about fraud vulnerabilities. Fox News reports that a 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation exposed widespread child care fraud across the upper Midwest. In 2019, the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a formal report identifying serious deficiencies in oversight of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), including inadequate attendance verification, weak financial controls, and over-reliance on provider self-reporting. The auditor estimated approximately $100 million had already been lost to fraud. Following this audit, the Minnesota legislature allegedly amended CCAP statutes and enacted enforcement policies designed to address the identified gaps.

Alleged Failure to Enforce Laws

Fox News alleges that despite having passed new safeguards, Minnesota’s Democrat-led state government failed to enforce them. The hearing testimony includes allegations that state staff repeatedly flagged fraud risks only to have concerns ignored or dismissed. According to the hearing, current and former Minnesota Department of Human Services employees reported being reassigned, called racist and xenophobic, sidelined, and in some cases subjected to threats or workplace surveillance after raising red flags about fraud. The hearing also alleges that when bipartisan legislation was introduced to establish an independent inspector general, Minnesota Democrats blocked it, citing an $18 million cost over four years.

The Fraud Schemes

Fox News reports that the hearing focused on multiple fraud vectors. In one case, federal prosecutors allegedly charged Asha Farhan Hassan with orchestrating a $14 million fraud scheme against Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) autism program. According to the charges presented at the hearing, Hassan and her partners allegedly recruited children from the Somali community, paid parents cash kickbacks, used unqualified individuals as therapists, and billed Medicaid for services never provided or grossly inflated.

Fox News reports that a University of Minnesota study noted one in 128 eight-year-old Somali children in Minnesota was diagnosed with autism compared to one in 28 non-Somali children statewide. The hearing testimony alleged that Somali children are seven times more likely than their non-Somali peers to receive autism treatment.

A separate major fraud case involved organizations like Feeding Our Future, which Fox News reports allegedly became the largest SNAP fraud in state and national history, billing taxpayers for at least $250 million in fake meals for fake children. According to the hearing testimony, as of the hearing date, there have been 78 indictments and 61 convictions related to the Feeding Our Future scandal.

Witness David Hoke, who Fox News identifies as a Minneapolis resident and citizen investigator, testified about his own observations. Hoke alleged that during visits to child care centers, autism clinics, and healthcare facilities across Minneapolis, he found blacked-out windows, misspelled signage, multiple providers registered to the same address, and no children present. Hoke testified that he visited approximately 200 organizations total.

Alleged International Movement of Funds

Fox News reports that the hearing examined allegations that fraud proceeds were sent overseas. According to testimony, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport saw $340 million in cash departing in 2024 and $350 million in 2025—reportedly 99% higher than comparable airports. The hearing testimony alleged that al-Shabaab, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization and al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, controls territory and systematically extorts money moving through financial channels in that region.

In Fox News’s Own Words

“Minnesota was clearly warned by journalists, by auditors, and by its own independent oversight bodies, and that the state responded by passing laws and promulgating safeguards intending to stop this abuse.”

“Rather than conducting criminal investigations of fraud, the Walz administration essentially renamed fraud as overpayment and they referred any overpayment cases to a new internal overpayment committee.”

“The single largest funder of al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization in Somalia, is the taxpayers of Minnesota.”

Why It Matters

Fox News frames this hearing as examining systemic failures in state government oversight and enforcement of existing fraud prevention laws. The network’s coverage emphasizes the scope of alleged fraud across multiple programs and the alleged retaliation against whistleblowers who raised concerns. The hearing also touched on questions of whether state officials were aware of the fraud and what steps both state and federal authorities should take to prevent similar schemes in other states.