Largest Funder of Al-Shabaab? Investigators Point to Minnesota Taxpayers

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode Title: Largest Funder of Al-Shabaab? Investigators Point to Minnesota Taxpayers
Air Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Ben Ferguson

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson delivers a deep-dive into startling revelations about fraud, waste, and abuse within Minnesota's welfare system—allegedly leading to Minnesota taxpayers becoming the largest funders of Al-Shabaab, a Somali-based terrorist organization. Ferguson draws on recent investigations, government reports, and statements from law enforcement to argue that lax oversight and systemic corruption within key welfare programs have enabled massive fraud, primarily perpetrated by members of Minnesota’s Somali community. He underscores the failures of local and federal officials and charges of political timidity, media neglect, and the chilling effect of accusations of racism. The episode relies heavily on reporting from City Journal and public press conferences, highlighting both fraud mechanics and political entanglements.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. Setting the Stage: Minnesota Welfare Fraud Crisis

• Major Claim: Billions in Minnesota taxpayer dollars have been stolen and funneled, in part, to foreign terrorist organizations via systemic welfare fraud.
• Political Context: Ferguson links these issues to broader conservative critiques of government inefficiency and progressive oversight.

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B. The Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) Program

[05:08 – 10:25]

• Origin: Launched in 2020 with the stated aim of helping seniors, addicts, disabled, and mentally ill Minnesotans secure housing.
• Design Flaws: The program was intentionally structured with “low barriers to entry and minimal requirements for reimbursement,” making it vulnerable to exploitation.
• Cost Overruns:
  • Initial estimate: $2.6m per year in 2020.
  • Exploded to:
    • $21m (shortly after launch)
    • $42m → $74m → $104m per year by 2024.
    • $61m in payouts in just the first six months of 2025.
• Fraud Exposed:
  • Minnesota’s Department of Human Services recently terminated 77 HSS providers due to credible allegations of fraud ([09:07]).
  • Former acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson called “the vast majority” of the HSS program “straight up fraudulent.”
  • Allegations that fictitious companies, not just overbilling, were systematically set up to defraud the system.

“[T]hese are often just purely fictitious companies solely created to defraud the system. And that’s unique in the extent of which we have here in Minnesota.”
— Joe Thompson, Acting U.S. Attorney ([09:58])

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C. Feed Our Future Scandal

[10:35 – 13:35]

• Background:
  • Feed Our Future started as a small nonprofit for daycare and after-school programs, enrolling sites in the federal Child Nutrition Program.
  • Rapid, suspicious expansion post-2019, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Fraudulent Activity:
  • Used fake meal counts, doctored attendance records, fabricated invoices.
  • By 2021, brought in nearly $200m in federal funds—up from $3.4m in 2019.
  • Minnesota officials raised concerns; the nonprofit replied with a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination to stifle scrutiny ([12:36]).
• Use of Funds:
  • Money intended for hungry children was instead spent on luxury lifestyles, real estate (in U.S., Turkey, Kenya), and vehicles.

“The organization that Feed Our Future sponsored were primarily owned and operated by members of yet again Minnesota’s Somali community... In response, the group filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination related to outstanding site applications and noting that Feeding Our Future caters to foreign nationals. So how dare you question us? You’re racist, right? Liberalism 101 playbook there.”
— Ben Ferguson ([12:19])

• Political Connections:
  • Notable Somali-American politicians and aides, including Rep. Ilhan Omar’s staff and Minneapolis city officials, have publicly supported or received donations from individuals indicted in the scheme ([14:00]).

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D. Autism Services Fraud

[14:38 – 16:39]

• Key Case: Asha Farhan Hassan and partners charged with running a $14m fraud involving Minnesota’s Early Initiative Development and Behavioral Intervention Program (autism services).

• Fraudulent Diagnoses: Prosecutors allege children without autism were diagnosed anyway to increase payouts.

• Kickback Scheme:

  • Parents recruited and paid monthly cash kickbacks ($300–$1,500 per child) to enroll children in autism services.
  • Larger authorized services equaled bigger parent kickbacks.
  • Press release highlights widespread network and a culture of threatening to leave centers if higher payouts weren’t delivered ([15:33]).

• Scale of Expansion:

  • Medicaid autism claims: $3m (2018) → $54m (2019) → $399m (2023).
  • Providers: 41 (2018) → 328 (2023); notable increase in Somali-run centers.
  • Exposed rate: 1 in 16 Somali four-year-olds diagnosed with autism — more than triple the state average.

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E. Systemic & Political Factors

[17:08 – 17:58]

• Motivation and Impunity:
  • Accusations of racism used to discourage whistleblowers and oversight (“the standard operating playbook for the cohort” — David Gaither, ex-State Senator).
  • Mainstream media and politicians reluctant to investigate due to electoral dependence on Somali community votes.
• Political Influence:
  • Strong ties between those charged in fraud cases and state and federal politicians.
  • Perpetrators leverage community influence to protect and expand their operations.

“If you don’t win the Somali community, you don’t win Minneapolis. And if you don’t win Minneapolis, you can’t win the state. End of story.”
— David Gaither ([13:50])

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F. Broader Implications

[17:59 – End]

• Ferguson’s Argument:
  • These frauds have drained “billions” in taxpayer funds, directly harming both Minnesota and the nation.
  • The episode ends with a claim that only the vigilance of conservative officials after Trump’s election led to these revelations.
  • Noted as “the beginning of the story,” warning listeners of further yet-undiscovered abuse.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On systemic fraud:

  “I have spent my entire career as a fraud prosecutor, and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota truly takes my breath away.”
  — Joe Thompson, Acting U.S. Attorney ([10:20])

• On political fear:

  “The media does not want to put a light on this. And if you’re a politician, it’s a significant disadvantage to you to alienate the Somali community... End of story.”
  — David Gaither ([13:50])

• On conservative oversight:

  “None of this would have been exposed if it wasn’t for Donald Trump and conservative members being put into positions of power to find and expose this type of blatant fraud that was in front of us the entire time.”
  — Ben Ferguson ([18:57])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro and Episode Theme: [02:27 – 05:06]
• Minnesota Welfare Fraud & HSS Program: [05:08 – 10:27]
• Feed Our Future Scandal: [10:35 – 13:35]
• Political Ties & Media Response: [13:36 – 14:37]
• Autism Services Fraud: [14:38 – 16:39]
• Systemic/Political Factors & Impact: [16:40 – 18:00]
• Closing Reflections & Final Takeaway: [18:00 – 19:13]

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Conclusion

Ben Ferguson’s episode advances a provocative and detailed account of how poorly designed state welfare programs in Minnesota have allegedly enabled massive fraud orchestrated by members of the Somali community, resulting in U.S. taxpayer funds reaching terrorist organizations like Al-Shabaab. The host ties systemic failures, political cowardice, and strategic accusations of racism to a broader pattern of progressive mismanagement, while warning listeners that far more remains to be uncovered.

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Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson (Show Host)]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

[Ben Ferguson]

Good Monday morning. It's a 47 Morning Update. It's so nice to have you with us and we've got a very big story for you that you need to share wherever you can. Your tax dollars going directly to terrorist organizations in Somalia. How is it happening through fraud, waste and abuse in our government. And we have all the details for you. But first, I want to tell you about an amazing opportunity right now that I'm involved in and I cannot wait for you to take advantage of it. I want you to take some incredible courses at Hillsdale College for free. You may not know this, but Hillsdale College has been influencing conservatives like myself for decades. They had a huge impact on Charlie Kirk's life. And even as memorial service, they talked about how Charlie took class after class after class at Hillsdale College. Hillsdale College is now offering for you, the listeners of this show, more than 40 free. I want to say that again. Free online courses. That's right. More than 40 free online courses. You can learn about the works of C.S. lewis, the stories in the book of Genesis, the meaning of the US Constitution, the rise and fall of the Roman Republic, or the history of the ancient Christian Church, all with Hillsdale College's free online courses. Right now, I'm personally taking the Constitution 101. In this course, you're going to explore the design and the purpose of the Constitution, the challenges it faced during the Civil War and how it has been undermined for more than a century by radical progressives and liberals. This 12 lecture course is self paced. It's another reason why I love it. So start whenever and wherever in our country. We need more Americans like you and I that understand the Constitution and can defend the freedom of the American people against the left and their increasing encroachments on our God given rights. So start your classes today for free. Start your free Constitution 101 course right now. How do you do it? Go to Hillsdale Edu Morning Update to enroll. And it's no cost. It's easy to get started. You got to use a special website, hillsdale edu slash morning update. Enroll for free hillsdale.edu morning update. It's the 47 morning update and it starts right now.

[Ben Ferguson (Show Host)]

Story number one, I want to take.

[Ben Ferguson]

You back to election day and I want you to remember what Donald Trump said on election day. If you vote for him, he's going to get rid of waste, free fraud and abuse within our government. There was something that was created called Doge and then it inspired conservatives around the country in different states to actually start looking at waste, fraud and abuse in their state budgets. And what we're finding now is incredible amounts of waste, fraud, abuse, not just in local governments, but statewide and the federal government, obviously. Well, now we're finding out where some of that money was actually going. This is a headline that should concern every American. The largest funder of Al Shabaab, a terrorist organization, is now the Minnesota taxpayer. Minnesota is drowning in fraud. Billions in taxpayer dollars have been stolen during the administration of Governor Tim Waltz alone. Democratic state officials overseeing one of the most generous welfare regimes in the country have been asleep at the wheel or knew it was happening all along and sanctioned it. And the media, duty bound by progressives, right, have refused to connect the dots or report on it. And that's why we're telling you about it right now. In many cases, the fraud has allegedly been perpetrated by members of Minnesota's sizable Somali community. Federal counter terrorism sources are now confirming that millions of dollars in stolen funds have been sent back directly to Somalia, which where they are ultimately landing in the hands of a terror group, Al Shabaab. As one confidential source put it, the largest funder of Al Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer. The City journal says their investigation shows what happens when a tribal mindset meets a bleeding heart bureaucracy. When imported clan loyalties collide with a political class that's too timid to offend, and when accusations of racism are cynically deployed to shield criminal behavior. The predictable resort is graft, with taxpayers left to foot the literal bill. If you were to design a welfare program to facilitate fraud, it would probably look like Minnesota's Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program. The HSS program, the first of its kind in the country, was launched with what they described as a noble goal. To help seniors, to help addicts, to help the disabled, and to help the mentally ill secure housing. Right. Who could possibly be against that? It was designed with, quote, low barriers, as they described it, to entry and minimal requirements for reimbursements. Nonetheless, before the program went live in 2020, so not that long ago, officials pegged its annual estimated price tag at just 2.6 million. Right, because now just 2.6 million is nothing. Well, guess what happened? Costs quickly spiraled out of control. A program that they said was only going to cost 2.6 million paid out more than $21 million in claims. In the following years, guess what happened? The annual cost shot up to 42 million. Then they shot up again to 74 million. Then they shot up again To 104 million. Now, how does something in 2020 go from 2.6 million to four years later, going to 104 million. It was all done by design to launder money. During the first six months of 2025, for example, payouts have already hit $61 million. On August 1, Minnesota's Department of Human Services moved to scrap the entire HSS program, noting that payments to 77 housing stabilization providers had been terminated this year due to credible allegations of fraud. Joe Thompson, then the Acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, went even further, stating that the vast majority of the HSS program was, was straight up fraudulent. Now they knew that this was happening and Democrats didn't care. Or maybe it was actually designed to happen the way that I'm describing it right now. On September 18, Thompson announced criminal indictments of HSS fraud against multiple individuals, six of whom, according to the US Attorney's Office spokesperson, are members of Minnesota's Somali community. Thompson made clear that this is just the first round of charges for HHS fraud that his office will be prosecuting, saying, quote, most of these cases, unlike a lot of Medicare fraud and Medicaid fraud cases nationally, aren't just over billing. Thompson said at the press conference announcing these indictments, saying, quote, these are often just purely fictitious companies solely created to defraud the system. And that's unique in the extent of which we have here in Minnesota. The Thompson said many firms enrolled in the program operated out of dilapidated storefronts or rundown office buildings. The perpetrators often targeted people recently released from rehab, signing them up for Medicaid services they had no intention of ever providing. He noted that many owners of the companies encouraged and engaged in HSS fraud had other companies through which they build other Medicaid programs, such as the EIDBI Autism Program, the Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services Program, the Integrated Community Support Program, the Community Access for Disability Inclusion. All of these programs which had automatic yeses because of Medicaid waiver services. What we see are schemes tracked upon, schemes draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never ending, Thompson said. I have spent my entire career as a fraud prosecutor, and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota truly takes my breath away, he said at the press conference on September 18, the same day that the HHS fraud charges were announced, the U.S. attorney's office also reported that a man who had become the 56th defendant to plead guilty in the $250 million Feed Our Future fraud scheme as well that was founded in 2016. Feeding Our Future was a, quote, small Minnesota nonprofit that sponsored daycares and after school programs to enroll in the federal Child Nutrition program. Guess what happened? The organization that Organizations that Feeding Our Future sponsored were primarily owned and operated by members of yet again Minnesota's Somali community. According to two former state officials with connections to law enforcement, in 2019, Feeding Our Future received 3.4 million in federal funding. Dispersed by the state in the months after the COVID 19 pandemic began, the nonprofit rapidly increased its number of sponsored sites using fake meal counts, doctored attendance records, and fabricated invoices. The perpetrators of fraud ring claimed to be serving thousands of meals a day, seven days a week to underprivileged children. Of course, in the name of COVID 19. In 2021, Feeding Our Future received nearly $200 million in funding. And no one decided to just like go and find out, like, hey, are they actually feeding people? This is a group that was founded in 2016, was a small Minnesota nonprofit, sponsored these daycares after school programs, enrolled in the federal child nutrition program, and then ballooned to $200 million in funding in 2021. And no one decided to go check and see what's really going on. So here's what you really need to know. In reality, the money was being used to fund lavish lifestyles, purchase luxury vehicles, and buy real estate in the United States. Not just the United States. Also in Turkey and in Kenya. In 2020, Minnesota officials raised concerns about the nonprofit's rapid expansion. In response, the group filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination related to outstanding site applicants applications and noting that Feeding Our Future caters to foreign nationals. So how dare you question us? You're racist, right? Liberalism 101 playbook there, quote. That's the standard operating playbook for the cohort. When in doubt, claim racism, claim bias. That's what a former Minnesota state senator and a nonprofit leader, David Gaither, said. Even if the facts don't point to that, it allows for many folks in the middle or on the left center to stay silent. Gaither believes the mainstream media, alongside Minnesota's democratic establishment, have long turned a blind eye to fraud within the Somali community. That in turn allowed the problem to metastasize, saying the media does not want to put a light on this. And if you're a politician, it's a significant disadvantage to you to alienate the Somali community. If you don't win the Somali community, you don't win in Minneapolis. And if you don't win Minneapolis, you can't win the state. End of story. Now the fraudsters have leveraged their growing political influence to cultivate close ties with Minnesota's elected officials. Several individuals involved in the Feeding Our Future scheme donated to or appeared publicly with Elam Omar, the Somali born congresswoman from Minneapolis. Omar's deputy district director, Ali Esi, advocated on behalf of Feeding Our Future. Omar Fada, a former state senator who recently ran for Minneapolis mayor, lobbied the Governor Waltz in support of the program. And one of the accused, a person Abdi Noor Salaam, served as a senior aide to Minneapolis's Mayor Jacob Frey. Just days later, on September 24th, the US Attorney, Joseph Thompson announced his office office's first indictment in yet another fraud case. This time the scheme involved federally funded autism services for children. The accused is a woman named Asha Farhan Hassan, a member of Minnesota's Somali community yet again who has been charged in the Feeding Our Future scam. She's alleged to have played a role in a $14 million fraud scheme perpetrated against Minnesota's Early Initiative Development and Behavioral Intervention Program. Hasan and her co conspirators approached parents in the Somali community and recruited their children into autism therapy services. It didn't matter, by the way, prosecutors suggested if a child did not have an autism diagnosis, Hasan would facilitate a fraudulent one. Bam. And your taxpayers yet again being abused. In a press release announcing the indictment, the U.S. attorney's office made clear that the alleged autism fraud scheme extended to a wide network of people. To drive up enrollment, Hassan and her partners paid monthly cash kickback payments to the parents of children who enrolled. The release reads. These kickback Payments range from 300 to 1500 per month per child. The amount of these payments was contingent on the services DHS authorized a child to receive. The higher the authorization amount, the higher the kickback. Often, parents threatened to leave and take their children to other autism centers if they did not get paid higher kickbacks. Much like the HSS program, autism claims to Medicaid in Minnesota have skyrocketed in recent years. Now, if you want to look at corruption and the Democratic Party, listen to this. It went from 3 million in claims in 2018 to 54 million in 2019. That should have been the first red flag, but Democrats didn't care. Then it went to 77 million in 2020. And if that doesn't scare you, then it went from 77 to 183 million in claims in 2021. If that doesn't scare you, it then went to 275 million in 2022 and then went, because no one was checking the books, to 399 million in 2023. So again, this program and your federal tax dollars were going into it to pay for These claims of Medicaid. In Minnesota, 3 million in claims for autism in 2018 went to 399 million in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of autism providers in the State also spiked from 41 to 328 over the same period, with many in the Somali community establishing their own autism treatment center, citing the need for culturally appropriate programming. By the time the fraud scheme was exposed, 1 in 16 Somali 4 year olds in the state had reportedly been diagnosed with autism, a rate more than triple the state average. Again, if you were looking for fraud, it was right in front of you. This is not an isolated scheme. Thompson, the U.S. attorney said in the press release that no one's covering this week. From Freeding Our Future to Housing Stabilization Services to NOW Autism Services, these massive fraud schemes form a web that is stolen now. Literally billions of dollars in taxpayer money each case we bring expose another strand of the network so your tax dollars are going to terrorists in Somalia because of the Somali community that is now going after your tax dollars and setting up organizations to steal from you. The Feeding Our Future HSS and autism Services cases are far from only examples. They said at least 28 fraud scandals have surfaced since Governor Waltz was elected governor. 19. Most of the large scale fraud rings according to two former FBI officials who spoke to the City Journal and have been perpetrated by members of the Somali community. So let me just end by saying this. Apparently this is not the end of the story, but the beginning of the story. The amount of corruption, fraud and abuse is massive and none of this would have been exposed if it wasn't for Donald Trump and conservative members being put into positions of power to find and expose this type of blatant fraud that was in front of us the entire higher time.

[Ben Ferguson (Show Host)]

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 tomorrow.

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

This is an iHeart podcast.