Feeding Our Future or Funding Our Fraud -Minnesota’s Somali Fraud Grows

Summary

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The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: Feeding Our Future or Funding Our Fraud – Minnesota’s Somali Fraud Grows
Date: December 13, 2025
Host: Ben Ferguson
Producer: Premiere Networks

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the growing investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department into massive fraud involving the Somali community in Minnesota, particularly surrounding the Feeding Our Future scandal. Host Ben Ferguson provides detailed commentary on the depth and consequences of this widespread fraud, criticism of state leadership—especially Governor Tim Walz—and the federal government's intensifying involvement. Throughout, Ferguson scrutinizes explanations and defenses put forth by public officials.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Treasury Department’s Crackdown on Minnesota Somali Fraud

(03:01 – 07:37)

• Escalation: The U.S. Treasury Department is intensifying investigations into alleged fraud by members of Minnesota’s Somali community, citing a series of high-profile cases.
• Focus on Money Transfers: Efforts concentrate on businesses wiring money to families abroad, with new requirements for additional verification on such transfers.
  • “The Treasury Department is now ratcheting up its investigation targeting the Somali community for massive fraud in Minnesota.” — Ben Ferguson, 03:04
• Feeding Our Future Scandal: Nonprofit accused of stealing pandemic aid meant for school meals, with losses pegged at $300 million.
• Alleged Terrorist Funding: Conservative media reports claim defrauded funds may have reached Al Shabaab (an al-Qaeda-linked group in Somalia), though not substantiated by federal prosecutors.

2. Shocking Details of the Fraud’s Reach

(07:37 – 08:36)

• Lavish Spending: Evidence includes luxury items and large cash sums used by convicted fraudsters.
  • “A honeymoon in the Maldives. A fleet of luxury cars. Here’s a box with more than $270,000 in cash.” — CBS News segment, cited by Ben Ferguson, 07:55
• Scale of Losses: U.S. attorney Daniel Rosen states the theft is well over a billion dollars.
  • “I can say with great comfort, well in excess of a billion dollars.” — Daniel Rosen, 07:57

3. Profile of the Perpetrators & State Program Vulnerabilities

(08:00 – 08:36)

• Demographics: 87 people charged, 61 convicted, majority Somali American; Minnesota hosts the largest Somali population in the U.S.
• Types of Fraud: State programs targeted included those for low-income kids, disabled housing, and services for autistic children.
• International Money Flows: Investments in property abroad (especially Kenya) and over $1 million sent to Chinese banks.

4. Governor Tim Walz’s Response & Political Fallout

(08:36 – 14:23)

• Governor’s Defense: Tim Walz insists not to blame the Somali community broadly, drawing comparisons to other ethnic groups and shifting focus to broader issues of crime.
  • Notable quote:
    “If that were the case, there’s a lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable for the crimes that they have committed.” — Tim Walz, 09:35
• Calls for Community Accountability: Walz suggests more education and internal oversight within the Somali community.
• Blaming Partisanship: Walz characterizes the investigations as politically vindictive, prompted by the Trump administration’s targeting of Minnesota.
  • Notable quote:
    “This is all about coming and attacking us... He didn’t know anything about this. He doesn’t know how Medicaid program works. He only thing he knows about is he’s going to double the cost over the next week.” — Tim Walz, 11:34
• Competing Narratives: Ferguson criticizes Walz for “making it a racial issue“ and for what he sees as deflecting responsibility rather than addressing the fraud directly.
  • “This is still a governor that is trying to turn this into some racial issue instead of a massive fraud issue.” — Ben Ferguson, 10:20
• Admission of Systemic Issues: Walz notes that unraveling fraud in complex programs is difficult, blaming the breadth of state and federal welfare systems for creating vulnerabilities.

5. The Role of AI and Further Shifting of Blame

(14:23 – 14:54)

• Governor Blames AI: In his final defense, Walz attributes the evolving nature of fraud to challenges posed by AI.
  • Quote:
    “AI poses immense challenges in the fraud space. We’ve sought top to bottom change... to create stronger oversight.” — Tim Walz, 14:23
• Critique of Excuses: Ferguson closes by summarizing the governor’s ever-changing scapegoats, from Trump and the federal government to artificial intelligence.
  • “So there it is, a governor saying billions of dollars stolen... And he says it’s a conspiracy and Trump is the problem by trying to crack down on it... Then he says it’s really AI’s problem that this is happening, not the government, for allowing it to happen.” — Ben Ferguson, 14:54

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Scale of Fraud:
  “I can say with great comfort, well in excess of a billion dollars.”
  — Daniel Rosen, U.S. Attorney, 07:57

• On Community Responsibility:
  “If that were the case, there’s a lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable for the crimes that they have committed.”
  — Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, 09:35

• On the Political Climate:
  "This is all about...attacking us. He didn’t know anything about this...He only thing he knows about is he’s going to double the cost over the next week."
  — Tim Walz, 11:34

• On AI’s Role in Fraud:
  “AI poses immense challenges in the fraud space. We’ve sought top to bottom change in state government to create stronger oversight.”
  — Tim Walz, 14:23

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Fraud Investigation Announcement: 03:01 – 07:37
• Lavish Spending & Amount Stolen: 07:37 – 08:36
• Profile of Perpetrators/Methods: 08:00 – 08:36
• Governor’s Defense & Political Arguments: 08:36 – 14:23
• Blaming AI for State Failures: 14:23 – 14:54
• Host’s Closing Critique & Summary: 14:54 – 15:52

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Episode Tone & Style

The tone is assertive, skeptical, and deeply critical of perceived government ineptitude and partisan deflection. Ben Ferguson maintains a questioning, investigative approach, pushing back against official narratives and emphasizing the need for accountability.

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode provides a comprehensive look at Minnesota’s Somali fraud scandal, focusing on both the mechanics and the fallout from the Feeding Our Future scheme. Listeners are presented not only with facts and evidence but also with the political disputes and shifting blame that have characterized public response. The host’s pointed critique of Governor Walz and the evolving justifications for the fraud offer a sharp, detailed view of a scandal with implications reaching well beyond Minnesota.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

To your doorstep this winter.

[Tim Waltz]

Show your support as they race for the podium. Head to Insider, usski and snowboard.org and join today. Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Wimsound smart speaker. Get high resolution audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just $299. From Quiet Mornings to lively holiday gatherings, Windsound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Whim sound beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Whim sound that's w I I m s o u n d. But let me also say a very special thanks to all of the spouses and loved ones here tonight. You make incredible sacrifices for us as politicians. I call myself now a politician. None of what we absolutely do whatever would be possible without you.

[Ben Ferguson]

And I want to thank my great.

[Tim Waltz]

Wife, my great first lady for helping me.

[Ben Ferguson]

But every single one of you have been helped by yourself.

[Tim Waltz]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Good Saturday morning. It's nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got one big story for you. The Treasury Department is now ratcheting up its investigation targeting the Somali community for massive fraud in Minnesota. And the governor there, waltz, is fighting back. What's his excuse now? He says it's not his fault they've been sending money to terrorists. It's somehow AI's fault. Operation Overlord, the D Day beaches. You and I share a passion for history. So I hope you'll join me next spring on the D Day beaches in Normandy. That's right, the invasion that sealed Hitler's doom. Omaha and Utah. You're going to discover the sacred patch of sand. With me, 10 days in Europe, luxury hotels and fully escorted by a America's leading expert on France and the D day invasion, Ken Chase. 57. 57. And that includes your airfare. You're going to stand at General Patton's grave site, Baston Point du Har and Mulberry Harbor. Call my friends at Conservative Tours on your cell phone. Just dial pound250 and say the keyword Conservative Tours or go to Conservative Tours.com an A plus rating with the BBB. All your sightseeing in Paris too, dial pound250, say the key Conservative Tours. You'll have the option to receive a one time auto dialed text message from iHeartMedia. It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts right now. Story number one. We've been talking a lot about an important story and that is Somali refugees that are taking billions of dollars from you, the taxpayer. We know just how much money and how many of them are taking your dollars, especially in Minnesota. Well now the Treasury Department is ratcheting it up with investigations targeting the Somali community for fraud. Specifically in Minnesota, the Treasury Department targeting businesses they say that people use to wire money to family members abroad. As the Trump administration is investigating the fraud within Minnesota's Somali community. The Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant confirming on Friday now these new actions have been prompted by a series of fraud cases, including a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future that is accused of stealing pandemic aid meant for school meals. Prosecutors have put the losses from the case at $300 million. Basin is pointed to report by conservative news outlet City Journal, which claims the taxpayer dollars from defrauded government programs flowed to Al Shabaab, an Al Qaeda linked militant group that controls parts of Somalia. The report cites unnamed sources and the allegations have not been substantiated. Federal prosecutors have not charged any defendants with supporting terrorists. On Friday, Besant said on social media that the Treasury Department will soon issue an order requiring money wire services that people use to send money to Somalia to submit additional verification to the Treasury. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a Treasury arm that combats financial crimes like money laundering and terrorism financing, will also deploy to assist in the efforts, the treasury secretary stated. He added also that the Internal Revenue Service would also be involved in looking into firms accused of engaging in fraud. Additionally, treasury personnel are on the ground working hard to uncover the facts, he said, about why so many American tax dollars have been going to fraud, including going to terrorist organizations and the money going literally back to Somalia. Now Democrats were hoping that this entire scandal would disappear. It certainly doesn't look good for Democrats including the governor in Minnesota who knew that this was going on. CBS even putting out a report saying it this way as they're describing how bad the abuse is. A honeymoon in the Maldives. A fleet of luxury cars. Here's a box with more than $270,000 in cash. This was all evidence from a new trove of files obtained exclusively by CBS News showing how a group of convicted Minnesota fraudsters spent taxpayer dollars. One text message reads. You are going to be the richest 25 year old.

[Ben Ferguson]

We're not even at the end of the beginning of our pursuit of the stolen money and of the people who stole it.

[Tim Waltz]

U.S. attorney Daniel Rosen leads the office digging into the wave of COVID era fraud that hit Minnesota. So how much money are we talking about stolen from the American taxpayer?

[Ben Ferguson]

I can say with great comfort well in excess of a billion dollars.

[Tim Waltz]

In the past three years, 87 defendants have been charged, 61 convicted. The majority of them are Somali American. Minnesota has the nation's largest Somali population. The perpetrators are accused of ripping off state run programs intended to feed low income kids, house the disabled and provide services to autistic children.

[Ben Ferguson]

This was a get rich scheme.

[Tim Waltz]

Andy Lugar was the U.S. attorney who first examined this fraud. He left in January.

[Ben Ferguson]

One of the things we discovered is that a number of the people Involved were buying investment property, resort property in Kenya.

[Tim Waltz]

Wire transfers reviewed by CBS News also Show More than $1 million went to Chinese banks. The Trump administration has said it's investigating whether any of the money fell into the hands of terror groups like Al Shabab and Somalia. You listen to that CBS report and you can see just how bad the corruption is. Not only how bad the corruption is, but also the fact that there's been a long history of it and the governor was looking the other way. Tim Waltz now on defense saying this about the Somali community at a press conference today. Do you want to hear more from members and leaders from the Somali community to say we need to hold our, we need to look at ourselves, we need to hold our own neighbors accountable because look at the damage that this.

[Ben Ferguson]

Has done to our community.

[Tim Waltz]

What do you want to hear more from instead of just saying don't blame us, do you want to see more ownership and oversight from within?

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, it's not law abiding citizens. If that were the case, there's a lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable for the, for the crimes that they have committed. I think for the community to maybe educate their population. Because I think what you're seeing here is there's secondary victims in this, that there's, there's providers inside the community that are then victimizing the community themselves by signing them up. Because when we're going to some of these people, they're like, I had no idea I was in this program. So I think it's, it's asking us then, you know, for every crime, which of course the majority being committed by white men, asking us to do more about that. I think it's crime in general. And I think the biggest thing on this is, is just making sure that we're educating the population. And Again, this is 80 people or so that have been convicted in this. Maybe some more in that.

[Tim Waltz]

You listen to Waltz there. If Somali communities should hold their own accountable, quote, a lot of white men should be holding white men accountable. This is still a governor that is trying to turn this into some racial issue instead of a massive fraud issue. There is fraud in the Somali community. They figured out how to defraud the federal government. The people that are coming into Minnesota are understanding how to grab American dollars and send them back home to not only family members, but to literal terrorist organizations. Al Shabaab, Tim Waltz saying this as well. Governor, is the well too spoiled or.

[Ben Ferguson]

Can you count on cooperation with the U.S. attorney's office here? The FBI 100% that well, is not spoiled. I would let Drew talk to that. And I'm going to say that in the midst of what's very clearly a vindictive attack on Minnesota from this administration, I will say this. The bright point on this has been the U.S. attorney's office. And you saw that when Andy Lugar left, we never missed a beat to Joe Thompson. And they have been good partners. I'll let Drew talk about it. He worked with them and we have talked about this. And look, I have to assess this, too. I understand when I speak up, it brings Donald Trump's petty vindictiveness to Minnesota. And this is all about coming and attacking us. He didn't know anything about this. He doesn't know how Medicaid program works. He only thing he knows about is he's going to double the cost over the next week. But he doesn't know how these programs work or anything about it. So he heard and somebody told him the Somalis are stealing money and they're not doing anything about throw it up there. That's not how the U.S. attorney's office works.

[Tim Waltz]

You listen to Tim Waltz and he's saying it yet again. This is vindictive. So all the waste, all the fraud, all the abuse, sending money to terrorists, Tim Waltz is telling you, he's telling the American people, no, no, this is, this is really about vindictive Donald Trump. So then if that's the case, why did, moments later he say this?

[Ben Ferguson]

So if you try and commit fraud in Minnesota and there's folks out there listening right now, you are going to prison eventually. I think the biggest thing on this is you'll hear from some of the experts here. Many of these programs, especially federal Medicaid and Medicare, plagues every state. And when you sit down and dig into this, it takes weeks and weeks and weeks, and actually it takes years to become experts in this. These are programs that have been layered up in a spider web over the years that makes it incredibly difficult. And I think unwinding those or bringing about the integrity, it's the reason why we're seeing federal agencies under the Trump administration acknowledge the work that's being done, acknowledge that these things are better and actually suggesting in other states when I talk to them about implementing that, because they're, they're going to deal with it. Covid moved a lot of money very, very quickly. And our goal was to make sure we were moving that money so that people ate, that they were housed, that they had vaccines. But it also opened up the door to relax the guardrails and to have fraud be committed.

[Tim Waltz]

So there it is, the governor yet again, blaming everybody else but himself. And that is why this has become such a massive problem yet again. When there's very clear fraud at a level that is a scandal that is broken, that is putting his governorship in real peril. He's saying this is somehow just Donald Trump's fault. It's vindictiveness. But eventually, as he describes, if you're breaking a law, yeah, okay, you'll go to jail. And then immediately goes back to playing politics. I look at this governor and he goes back to say one final thing, giving another excuse for why this happened. This time he's not blaming the fact that he and the people around him refused to look at the Somali community for what they are doing and the crimes are committing. No, no. You want to know what he says the real problem is? You know, he's actually blaming for the waste, fraud and abuse and the money going to terrorist organizations. He says it's a eyes fault. I'm not joking. This is his final excuse.

[Ben Ferguson]

Any amount of fraud is too much. That's why over the last several years, we've made many systematic changes to state government to both detect fraud and hold those accountable. After it happened. Year after year, we brought new ideas to the legislature to stay ahead of the evolving tactics, and they are evolving. AI poses immense challenges in the fraud space. We've sought top to bottom change in state government to create stronger oversight. We leveraged outside experts, we modernized technology and hold criminals accountable.

[Tim Waltz]

So there it is, a governor saying billions of dollars stolen from the American people. And he says it's a conspiracy and Trump is the problem by trying to crack down on it. He then says it's not actually happening, but if it is happening, eventually you will get put in jail. Eventually. And then he says it's really AI's problem that this is happening, not the government, for allowing it to happen. In Minnesota. If you want to know how broken Minnesota is, this is a perfect example of it and exactly why the Treasury Department, the IRS and the federal government is involved under Trump's leadership to stop your tax dollars from going to this abuse and going to terrorists as well. Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here.

[Ben Ferguson]

Tomorrow, 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push.

[Tim Waltz]

Past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIC contract for 250,000. This is where Mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. This is Trainer Games.

[Ben Ferguson]

Watch it on prime video starting January 8th.

[Tim Waltz]

Plan on flying it's time to upgrade to a real ID because in order to board domestic flights, your driver's license or state issued ID must be a real ID or you'll need another acceptable form of identification. So don't wait. Find out how to get your real [e-mail] realID that's tsa.gov realID or visit your local DMV and then you'll be cleared for takeoff. The world's best ski and snowboard athletes are chasing medals. Now you can follow their every move. Join Insider, the official US Ski and Snowboard fan loyalty program, and get premium viewing at World cup ski events, exclusive athlete meetups, discounts from brands you love, and a custom welcome gift mailed direct.

[Ben Ferguson]

To your doorstep this winter.

[Tim Waltz]

Show your support as they race for the podium. Head to Insider, usski and snowboard.org and join today. Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Wimsound smart speaker. Get high resolution audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control and modern design in one powerful speaker for just $2.99. From Quiet Mornings to lively holiday gatherings, Windsound makes every moment sound better and feel better too. Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Whim Sound Beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Whimsound. That's W I I M S O u n D How do I do.

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