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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued demand letters to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), and the Somali-linked nonprofit Feeding Our Future as part of an investigation into potential misuse of federal funds to support illegal migration.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Tim Walz, Jacob Frey, Feeding Our Future, and HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The letters, covering fiscal years 2019 to 2025, demand a response by December 26, 2025, in Minnesota.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We’re trying to get data from them that will help give us confidence that there’s not fraud.” – Alex Adams
🎯IMPACT: The investigation raises serious questions about oversight and potential fraud in Minnesota’s use of federal funds for social services programs.
IN FULL
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey (D), and the Somali-linked nonprofit Feeding Our Future have received demand letters from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a federal investigation into whether taxpayer funds were improperly used to support illegal immigration. HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams confirmed the inquiry, saying the agency is seeking detailed information about how federal money was spent.
The letters request records related to approximately $8.6 billion distributed through more than 1,000 federal grants covering fiscal years 2019, when Walz became Governor, through 2025. State and local entities have been ordered to respond by December 26, 2025.
Programs under scrutiny include Parents in Community Action, the Community Services Block Grant, the Social Services Block Grant, Title IV-E Foster Care, Refugee Cash Assistance, Refugee Medical Assistance, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Child Care and Development Fund. The letters seek extensive personal data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and state identification numbers, to allow federal officials to check for irregularities. Adams said, “We’re trying to get data from them that will help give us confidence that there’s not fraud.”
The correspondence also references allegations from Minnesota Department of Human Services employees who allege that repeated warnings about fraud were ignored, whistleblowers faced retaliation, and misuse of federal funds continued under current leadership. The U.S. Treasury Department and the Republican-led House Oversight Committee are also conducting separate investigations.
The HHS probe comes amid heightened scrutiny of Minnesota following a series of high-profile fraud cases, including the Feeding Our Future scandal, in which federal prosecutors allege more than $250 million in child nutrition funds were stolen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Court filings show that many defendants in that case were connected to nonprofits serving Minnesota’s Somali community, with prosecutors alleging funds were diverted to shell companies, luxury purchases, and overseas accounts, potentially including al-Qaeda franchise al-Shabaab.
Additional whistleblower accounts have alleged that state officials were alerted as early as 2019 to potential fraud tied to Somali-run organizations but failed to intervene. Federal authorities have since charged dozens of suspects in multiple cases involving welfare, Medicaid, and pandemic-era aid programs, with total losses exceeding $1 billion. The investigations have intensified political pressure on Walz’s administration as federal agencies continue reviewing Minnesota’s handling of social services funds.
Image by Gage Skidmore.
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