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Ramsey Co. fraud: ‘We can do more to help’
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office says it can do more to help fight statewide fraud, but it needs more resources to help. FOX 9’s Mike Manzoni spoke with Ramsey County Attorney John Choi to learn more about how his office wants to tackle bigger fraud cases.
RAMSEY CO., Minn. (FOX 9) - The Ramsey County Attorney's Office said it could help combat statewide fraud by prosecuting more complex cases, but needs additional resources.
Ramsey County wants to ramp up statewide fraud prosecutions
What we know:
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi highlighted a past multimillion-dollar fraud scheme from 2014, emphasizing the need for more funding to tackle similar cases. He mentioned that his office prosecuted several people involved in a $4 million daycare fraud scheme.
Choi's office prosecutes about 50 fraud cases each year. He noted that since the Minnesota State Capitol is within his jurisdiction, his office can prosecute any state fraud that doesn't involve federal money.
"We're always willing to help," he said. "That's our job."
The backstory:
More than a decade ago, FOX 9 Investigators confronted one of the suspects in the daycare fraud scheme. Two of them disappeared after being released on bail.
At the time, Choi said he had requested additional resources to prosecute similar cases but was not successful.
State report urges more resources for prosecutions
What they're saying:
A recent state report on fraud suggested increasing the prosecutorial capacity of the Ramsey County Attorney's Office to effectively handle statewide fraud cases.
"If we were to take on more of these bigger cases, what we just would need is making sure that we had enough robust investigators," he said.
Choi has not yet discussed additional funding with lawmakers or leaders, describing the idea as being in its early stages.