Minnesota fraud: Gov. Walz, AG Ellison to appear before House Oversight Committee

Feds share new numbers on MN fraud

Federal prosecutors shared new numbers on fraud in Minnesota, which could top $9 billion. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has more. 

(FOX 9) - Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are set to appear before the House Oversight Committee regarding fraud in Minnesota's social services programs.

Gov. Tim Walz, AG Keith Ellison to appear before Congress

The backstory:

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced in a press release Friday Gov. Walz and AG Ellison have confirmed their appearance at a hearing titled "Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II." 

The committee aims to question Walz and Ellison, under oath, to ensure transparency and accountability, Comer said. The hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 4. 

What they're saying:

"Americans deserve answers about the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs that occurred on Governor Walz’s and Attorney General Ellison’s watch. The House Oversight Committee recently heard sworn testimony from Minnesota state lawmakers who stated that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison failed to act to stop this widespread fraud and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns," said Comer in a statement. "We look forward to questioning Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison under oath about this scandal to ensure transparency and accountability for the American people, and to advance solutions to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse and impose stronger penalties on those who defraud taxpayers." 

Congress hearings on Minnesota fraud

Rep. Emmer questions if Gov. Walz knew about fraud

Rep. Tom Emmer questioned witnesses during Wednesday's Congressional fraud hearing, asking witnesses if they thought Gov. Tim Walz knew about the fraud as it was happening.

Dig deeper:

The House Oversight Committee’s first round of hearings titled "Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part 1" took place on Jan. 7. Several Minnesota GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Kristin Robbins, Rep. Walter Hudson and Rep. Marion Rarick spoke in the hearing. 

The hearings were held in the wake of rampant fraud being discovered through state-administered programs relying on federal funds. In October, the state began auditing the 14 high-risk Medicaid programs and earlier this month, Gov. Walz tapped Tim O'Malley to head a state fraud prevention program.

Meanwhile, another hearing before Congress is taking place on Wednesday, Feb. 4. Rep. Robbins announced on Friday, Jan. 30 she will appear before a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing titled "Somali Scammers: Fighting Fraud in Minnesota and Beyond" where she is expected to testify and answer questions about what she calls the "Walz fraud scandal." 

Former First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson announced a new round of charges related to fraud in autism, Medicaid and housing programs, while saying fraud so far uncovered could total as high as $9 billion or more. That number comes from Thompson saying there has been $18 billion allocated to 14 state-run Medicaid and social services programs since 2018. Thompson claimed in that December press conference that it's estimated roughly half or more of that is linked to fraud.