A ‘Billion-Dollar Fraud Machine’: Minnesota Scandal Explodes | 12.31.25

Summary

Morning Wire: “A ‘Billion-Dollar Fraud Machine’: Minnesota Scandal Explodes”

Date: December 31, 2025
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe
Guest: Rep. Tom Emmer (House Majority Whip, MN-6)
Episode Focus: The widespread fraud scandal in Minnesota, highlighting the scope of government failures, political incentives, implicated individuals, and potential reforms.

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Episode Overview

This special edition of Morning Wire conducts an in-depth interview with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, focusing on a massive fraud scandal involving Minnesota government programs. The conversation scrutinizes the oversight failures under Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, the systemic issues enabling the fraud, the demographic and political context, the alleged diversion of funds to terrorist groups, and the need for stronger federal safeguards. The episode aims to shed light on how billions in taxpayer dollars were siphoned off and what accountability and reforms are needed.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis and Scale of the Fraud ([01:44]–[03:49])

• Chronology and Political Context:

  • Emmer contextualizes the scandal by tracing policy changes and key political figures in Minnesota’s government since 2017.
  • Attorney General Lori Swanson's tenure saw an attempt to investigate Somali daycare fraud.
  • After electoral shifts, Tim Walz became Governor, and Keith Ellison became AG, which Emmer claims marked a turning point for oversight and enforcement.

• Scope of the Problem:

  • Emmer claims the fraud permeates multiple government programs, calling it a “billion-dollar fraud machine.”
  • The alleged malfeasance extends beyond a single department and is said to represent systemic failure.

  "This is everywhere. In these, in this Tim Walls administration. ... The facts are this. Today there are roughly, by some estimates, about 80,000 Somali immigrants that are living in Minnesota. The vast majority of them live in Minneapolis or Hennepin county..."
  — Tom Emmer [03:23]

2. Political Incentives and Demographics ([03:49]–[06:07])

• Voter Base Dynamics:

  • Emmer criticizes Walz and Ellison for being reliant on votes from immigrant communities, particularly in urban counties, to secure razor-thin electoral victories.
  • He alleges political protectionism has stymied investigations and prosecutions.

  "Keith Ellison instantly set up a policy in his Attorney General's office that required his approval before any further investigations into fraud could go forward. Guess what? He's never approved one of them."
  — Tom Emmer [04:26]

3. Major Fraud Cases Detailed ([06:07]–[08:13])

• Pandemic Nutrition Program:

  • Minnesota administered COVID relief funds to feed children through school programs; $250 million was fraudulently diverted.
  • Emmer recounts an anecdote about a rabbi who had to show students via Zoom to prove legitimacy of his program, contrasting it with the lack of scrutiny given to fraudulent entities.

• Medicaid Housing & Daycare Frauds:

  • Estimated $100 million fraud in Medicaid housing within four years.
  • 80 Somali-run daycare centers under investigation; notable exploitation involving false autism diagnoses, leading to inflated claims.

  "Apparently some Somali woman built $14 million out of this thing by going around and recruiting others to have their kids so called diagnosed with autism."
  — Tom Emmer [07:50]

• Terrorist Connections:

  • Claims millions of dollars were sent back to Somalia, allegedly reaching Al Shabaab, a designated terrorist group.

4. Accountability and Investigations ([08:13]–[10:06])

• Slow Public and Legal Response:

  • Emmer asserts that meaningful oversight only began after national attention, specifically after President Trump highlighted the issue.
  • 80+ indicted individuals in the pandemic fraud case; "90% ... are from the Somali community in Minnesota."
  • Facebook whistleblower pages surfaced and disappeared, with allegations of retaliation against those who spoke up internally.

• Federal Interest:

  • U.S. Department of Justice is now investigating not just the fraud, but possible complicity or criminal negligence among state officials.

  "...our U.S. justice Department is starting to pick up where Minnesota should have been involved investigating not only the fraud, but who might have been not just incompetent, but actively engaged in the fraud because they should be criminally held, criminally responsible."
  — Tom Emmer [09:34]

5. Media Coverage, Race, and Political Narratives ([10:06]–[12:11])

• Suppression of Inquiry:

  • Emmer and the hosts argue that local media previously downplayed or ignored the scandal, attributing this to political correctness and fear of being labeled xenophobic.

• Accusations of Racism/Xenophobia:

  • Emmer rejects claims that criticisms are racially motivated, stating the root issue is criminality, not ethnicity.

  "She [Ilhan Omar] wants this to be about race. She wants this to be, you know, xenophobia. It's got nothing to do with that. This is about crimes committed by criminals."
  — John Bickley [11:32]

6. Alleged Involvement of Elected Officials ([10:29]–[11:53])

• Ilhan Omar’s Connections:
  • Questions about Representative Ilhan Omar’s links to the fraud, both through authorship of pandemic relief funding and her defense of certain accused individuals.
  • Emmer labels Omar “the most duplicitous con artist I have ever seen,” calling for prosecution if direct involvement is proven.

7. New Policy Solutions and Legislative Reforms ([12:11]–[14:06])

• Federal Oversight Recommendations:

  • Emmer suggests Congress institute mandatory weekly reporting and more rigorous oversight for all future federal relief programs to detect and prevent fraud.

  "...maybe should be standard protocol from this point forward for all of the federal agencies that you got to report weekly."
  — John Bickley [13:54]

• Systemic Reform Emphasis:

  • The need for triggers and accountability mechanisms is highlighted for states receiving large transfers of federal funds.

8. Immigration, Integration, and Deportations ([14:06]–[15:15])

• Criminal Accountability for Immigrants:

  • Emmer calls for the deportation of any immigrant proven to have lied to gain citizenship or participated in fraud, adding it’s essential to uphold the rule of law.

  "Anybody who came to this country misrepresenting who they were or their eligibility to enter the country ... they should be rounded up and shipped back to where they came from because that is the law."
  — John Bickley [14:50]

• New Federal Crackdowns:

  • Reference to Secretary Scott Besant’s (possibly fictional) measures targeting financial transactions linked to fraud and illegal immigration, seen as a promising first step but not sufficient.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Accountability:
  "If she's involved in any way, she should be prosecuted just like everybody else."
  — Tom Emmer on Ilhan Omar [11:51]

• On the Scale of Fraud:
  "If you look at the numbers ... it's over a billion dollars under the Tim Walls administration. That can't just be incompetence."
  — Tom Emmer [13:25]

• On Ethnic Dimensions and Excuses:
  "She wants this to be about race. ... This is about crimes committed by criminals."
  — John Bickley [11:32]

• On Policy Reform:
  “We need to find out ... how did $250 million go from the federal government to the state of Minnesota and then to a bunch of fraudsters?”
  — Tom Emmer [13:06]

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Important Timestamps

• [01:44] – Interview begins with Tom Emmer
• [03:23] – Demographic context, Somali community concentration in Minnesota
• [04:26] – Political manipulation of fraud investigations
• [06:07] – Major pandemic fraud case detailed
• [07:50] – Medicaid housing and daycare fraud
• [08:13] – DOJ involvement, whistleblower claims
• [10:29] – Ilhan Omar’s alleged connections and defense of accused fraudsters
• [12:41] – Need for new federal oversight of relief programs
• [14:50] – Emmer’s stance on deporting fraudsters and new financial scrutiny

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Episode Tone

• The tone is urgent and direct, with a clear point of view critical of Minnesota’s Democratic leadership and those perceived as neglecting or actively obstructing investigations.
• The language is combative, especially regarding accountability, and at times accusatory toward protected groups and individuals.
• There is a strong emphasis on the need for reform and the dangers of political correctness.

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For Listeners: Key Takeaways

• The Minnesota fraud scandal is large, multifaceted, and rooted in major oversight failures.
• Political calculations, particularly regarding vital voting blocs, have allegedly contributed to a lack of accountability.
• The fraud implicates not just lower-level operators, but potentially state officials and elected federal representatives.
• Congressional reforms are being considered to enforce transparency and prevent further loss of taxpayer money.
• The episode underscores the need to balance immigrant integration with robust enforcement of laws to protect the public trust.

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Note: All timestamps and quotes reflect direct attributions from the podcast transcript. Listeners with an interest in policy reform, fraud prevention, and government accountability will find this episode especially relevant.

Transcript

[Narrator]

The sweeping fraud allegations coming out of Minnesota have sparked demands for more investigations and further action from political leaders in D.C. to protect against billions more in taxpayer dollars getting funneled into the hands of fraudsters.

[John Bickley]

In this episode, we sit down with House Majority Whip Tom Immer, who represents Minnesota's 6th congressional district, to discuss what and who allowed the fraud and what actions lawmakers can take to hold those responsible account. Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. This is a special edition of Morning Wire.

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[John Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss is House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota's 6th congressional district. So first of all, Congressman, thank you so much for coming on.

[Tom Emmer]

Good to be with you.

[John Bickley]

So we have this massive fraud scandal continuing to unravel this week. What do you believe were the most critical oversight failures within the Wal administration?

[Georgia Howe]

And how should Minnesota restructure its safeguards to prevent this from happening again?

[John Bickley]

Well, the first thing you do is.

[Tom Emmer]

You got to get rid of Tim Walls and Keith Ellison and Ilhan Omar. I mean, there's your biggest structural problem right there. I let me, let me put some context around this for your, your viewers, your listeners. 2017 and 2018. The then Democrat attorney General in Minnesota.

[John Bickley]

Was a woman named Lori Swanson. Lori Swanson was investigating and prosecuting Somali daycare fraud.

[Tom Emmer]

Lori Swanson, in the election that year.

[John Bickley]

Ran for the nomination to be the Democrat gubernatorial candidate.

[Tom Emmer]

She ran against a guy named Tim Walls, her replacement. She lost to Tim Walls and her.

[John Bickley]

Replacement was a guy named Keith Ellison.

[Tom Emmer]

Who is Ilhan Omar's replacement, by the way.

[John Bickley]

At the last minute, he orchestrated his announcement that he wasn't going to run again so that only Ilhan Omar could.

[Tom Emmer]

Be the one that was able to file in time and be the candidate. Here's what it really comes down to. Before we get into the just sheer massive numbers.

[John Bickley]

And by the way, the breadth of this is not just one program.

[Tom Emmer]

This is everywhere. In these, in this Tim Walls administration. But the facts are this. Today there are roughly, by some estimates, about 80,000 Somali immigrants that are living in Minnesota. The vast majority of them live in Minneapolis or Hennepin county, an area called Riverside, Cedar Riverside. There's probably 50 to 60,000 of them right there.

[John Bickley]

But then you'll have some in central.

[Tom Emmer]

Minnesota, in my district, St. Cloud, some in Rochester, some in some other cities scattered around.

[John Bickley]

Tim Walls and Keith Ellison cannot get.

[Tom Emmer]

Votes in greater Minnesota. Think about this.

[John Bickley]

In the last re election, Tim Walls outspent the Republican candidates 15 million to 1.7 million. And he won with 52%, just over 52% of the vote. If you look a little deeper, we have 87 counties. Tim Walls only won the 13 Metro County.

[Tom Emmer]

I will go a little farther.

[John Bickley]

If you look at the 74 counties that he lost, he got 37% of the vote, including losing his former congressional seat by eight points. So what is this about? This is about the fact that when he and Keith Ellison took office, Keith Ellison instantly set up a policy in his Attorney General's office that required his approval before any further investigations into fraud could go forward. Guess what? He's never approved one of them.

[Tom Emmer]

By the way.

[John Bickley]

I want to make it clear, very grateful for the President raising this issue because we've been trying to get people to notice for the last three years. It's only because of what he has done that now all of a sudden.

[Tom Emmer]

People are stepping back in horror as.

[John Bickley]

To what's been going on in Minnesota. And it's not that all Somali immigrants are bad. It just so happens that 90% of the crimes we're talking about have been committed by people that are in the Somali community. And by the way, they have been sending millions back to Somalia into the.

[Tom Emmer]

Hands of Al Shabaab so a known terrorist group. So keep going.

[John Bickley]

If you look at Keith Ellison, he won by a little less than 11.

[Tom Emmer]

Point in his last election.

[John Bickley]

What is this all about? This is all about them getting reelected. They need that 60 to 80,000 Somali population. They need them to be voting for them. That's what this is all about. And what, what ends up happening because they refuse to deal with the problem. Look, you had the $250 million fraud.

[Tom Emmer]

That people have heard the largest pandemic fraud case in the country.

[John Bickley]

This was a nutritional supplement, I'll call it program during COVID where the states were administering money out of the Department of Agriculture through their Department of Education to schools to try and feed children during.

[Tom Emmer]

During COVID $250 million.

[John Bickley]

Who in the Minnesota Department of Education has been held accountable for this? Who was responsible for the oversight? By the way, I've got an anecdotal story. I've got a rabbi that runs a small Jewish school who asked me, how did they get away with this? I had to actually show the students by zoom to my contact in the.

[Tom Emmer]

Department of Education or Department of Health. It's one or the other.

[John Bickley]

But in the relevant agency, state agency, he had to show the children that were getting the benefits, getting the food.

[Tom Emmer]

Going through the line.

[John Bickley]

And his question to me was, how were they able to do this?

[Tom Emmer]

Okay, so then there was the Medicaid housing fraud that was estimated, they started in 2020, program was estimated to be a little more than 2 million a year. By 2024 and four years they'd sucked 100 million out of it. And guess what? They shut her down just last October after they sucked another 61 million out of it and they realized the fraud. 80 Somali daycare centers are under investigation. There's one scam that's I exposed. Apparently some Somali woman built 14 million out of this thing by going around and recruiting others to have their kids so called diagnosed with autism.

[John Bickley]

It's so bad that apparently 1 out of 16 Somali 4 year olds is alleged to be autistic, which is more.

[Tom Emmer]

Than three times the state average. I mean, I think our Acting U.S. attorney Joe Thompson said it best last summer in an interview, he said the.

[John Bickley]

The breadth of this, the fraud in.

[Tom Emmer]

This administration would take your breath away.

[Georgia Howe]

Is there any action being taken to hold people accountable if they did look the other way knowingly, what investigations are going on with that? And what do you hope to see pursued?

[Tom Emmer]

Well, actually you. Until President Trump sounded the alarm, it didn't matter what we were talking about, didn't matter what the acting US Attorney said last summer, no one in the Twin Cities media was really digging into this. So aside from the actors that have actually been indicted and been prosecuted, for instance, the, the pandemic fraud case, the Feeding Our Future case, it's over 80 people that were indicted. Many have already been convicted. 90% of those people are from the Somali community in Minnesota. I, as soon as Donald Trump started talking about this, there was a briefly live Facebook page with a bunch of.

[John Bickley]

People who claim to be whistleblowers inside.

[Tom Emmer]

The, the Tim Walls government. My understanding is it's since been taken down. But what I would say to you is this.

[John Bickley]

If one, if those whistleblowers are real.

[Tom Emmer]

And if they can document their claim that they not only warned Tim Walls about the fraud that was going on.

[John Bickley]

But that he ignored them and then retaliated against him.

[Tom Emmer]

Look, I think our U.S. justice Department is starting to pick up where Minnesota should have been involved investigating not only the fraud, but who might have been.

[John Bickley]

Not just incompetent, but actively engaged in the fraud because they should be criminally held, criminally responsible.

[Tom Emmer]

You've got Dr. Oz, who's investigating fraud in the Medicaid program. You've got Kelly Loeffler, who's investigating fraud in the SBA program. You got Cash Patel, who's busy with his team investigating Somali gangs that have.

[John Bickley]

Frankly been running rampant in the Twin Cities committing crimes, and no one will hold them accountable for it for it. In fact, Brian o', Hara, the Minneapolis.

[Tom Emmer]

Police chief, when asked right after Donald Trump broke this thing, when asked about.

[John Bickley]

It, he said, yeah, we got a.

[Tom Emmer]

Lot of Eastern Africans that are involved in a lot of these crimes.

[John Bickley]

He had to come out two days.

[Tom Emmer]

Later and apologize if he offended anyone for his comments.

[John Bickley]

Now, one more question on this Ilhan Omar. She's alleged to have a lot of connections, obviously, with the Somali community, but specifically with some of the fraudsters. Do you see any, again, accountability for her? Is there more that the American public should know about her?

[Tom Emmer]

There's a lot more than I want to know. I mean, Ilhan Omar has been defending these criminals all along. Omar Fatah, the guy who ran for mayor of this, the city of Minneapolis, who lost, thankfully, although the guy who won, not much better. But the Omar Fatah was allegedly involved with someone in the community, defrauding a, or at least being aware of a criminal scheme involving a state program.

[John Bickley]

Ilhan, my understanding, and I've got to.

[Tom Emmer]

Confirm this, but I think Ilhan was one of the authors of the the.

[John Bickley]

Pandemic funding that actually ended up going.

[Tom Emmer]

Through feeding our future and being the 250 million that was built out.

[John Bickley]

Look, she is the most duplicitous con.

[Tom Emmer]

Artist I have ever seen.

[John Bickley]

She wants this to be about race. She wants this to be, you know, xenophobia. It's got nothing to do with that. This is about crimes committed by criminals. You can't defend the criminal acts that have been involved.

[Tom Emmer]

And if.

[John Bickley]

If she's involved in any way, she.

[Tom Emmer]

Should be prosecuted just like everybody else.

[Georgia Howe]

And you brought up racism and xenophobia. And those claims are leveled at people who bring up communities like this that are sort of disproportionately involved in illegal activity. But the opposite form of racism appears to be what was actually happening here. As you described it, they had sort of protected status. Is that correct?

[Tom Emmer]

Well, look, they had a status from Keith Ellison of look the other way, look the other way and don't say anything. And when it comes to Ilhan Omar, look again, you can't defend criminals. Apparently she thinks she can. You can't defend criminals or criminal acts.

[John Bickley]

You need to hold these people accountable.

[Georgia Howe]

What about new federal guidelines or legislation to monitor relief programs like this? Do you support that? Do we need more in place to better protect taxpayers from abuse like this?

[Tom Emmer]

Yeah. Clearly the federal government has a role here. Right? It's not just the investigation and potential accountability issues that we're talking about. If crimes have been committed. Jamie Comer, my good friend in the oversight committee, has called a full hearing.

[John Bickley]

On this because we need to find out when.

[Tom Emmer]

When you create these programs, whether I, for instance, voted for it or voted against it doesn't matter.

[John Bickley]

If I was on the losing side.

[Tom Emmer]

Of the vote and the program is.

[John Bickley]

Has literally come into existence, how, for goodness sakes, how did $250 million go from the federal government to the state of Minnesota and then to a bunch of fraudsters? I mean, what we've talked about is it's over a billion dollars.

[Tom Emmer]

You just gotta. You gotta think about that for a second.

[John Bickley]

Over a billion dollars under the Tim Walls administration. That can't just be incompetence. So who was responsible for this? And in the future, we're gonna have to have some.

[Tom Emmer]

Some triggers that when you have this.

[John Bickley]

Money flowing, they've gotta.

[Tom Emmer]

I think, Oz, I'll use this.

[John Bickley]

I'm thinking on the fly, but Oz has given Tim Walls some very strict things that he must do if he.

[Tom Emmer]

Wants to keep the Medicaid dollars flowing. Weekly reports, other accountability things.

[John Bickley]

I think that maybe should be standard protocol from this point forward for all of the federal agencies that you got to report weekly.

[Tom Emmer]

You got to show us that you're.

[John Bickley]

Doing exactly what the law says and.

[Tom Emmer]

That you're making sure these dollars are.

[John Bickley]

Getting to where they were intended to go. Clearly, that wasn't happening in Minnesota.

Well, if we do see people held accountable, as you're asking for here, hopefully that's a major deterrent going forward. Forward for actions like this. Last question. Secretary Scott Besant recently announced a new crackdown on financial transactions linked to fraud and illegal immigration. Do you think this will be effective?

[Tom Emmer]

Well, I, I think it's just the beginning. I mean, I, I, I would tell you that again, immigration is really important for this country and we welcome anyone. Right.

[John Bickley]

And bring your culture. But you become Americans, you can celebrate your cultural heritage, you can celebrate your.

[Tom Emmer]

Traditions, but at the end of the.

[John Bickley]

Day, you live under the laws of.

[Tom Emmer]

The United States of America.

[John Bickley]

Anybody who came to this country misrepresenting who they were or their eligibility to enter the country in the first place, who somehow under those false pretenses was given citizenship status, I'm going to tell you right now, they should be rounded up and shipped back to where they.

[Tom Emmer]

Came from because that is the law. And I think Treasury Secretary Bessen is taking a good first step.

[John Bickley]

But we're going to have to look.

[Tom Emmer]

Into this a lot in a lot more detail because, you know, there's a lot of allegations out there and they've been out there for years, that people, including in Ilhan's family, came to this country under false pretenses.

[John Bickley]

Let's hope we do see some action on this because we don't want to see billions more wasted on fraud. Congressman Emmer, thank you so much for joining us.

[Tom Emmer]

Yeah. Thank you again for covering. I really appreciate it.

[John Bickley]

That was House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and this has been a special edition of Morning Wire.