The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Truth with Lisa Boothe: Inside the Minnesota Fraud Scandal with Joe Teirab
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Lisa Boothe
Guest: Joe Teirab, former federal prosecutor and Marine veteran
Episode Overview
This episode dives deeply into the massive Minnesota child nutrition fraud scandal — the largest of its type in U.S. history — through the eyes of Joe Teirab, who prosecuted parts of the case. Host Lisa Boothe invites Teirab to unpack how the "Feeding Our Future" fraud exploded, why it went undetected for years, who enabled it, and the broader systemic and political failures behind the theft of billions in government funds. With frank insights and firsthand experience, Teirab exposes regulatory lapses, political interference, and the tricks used to siphon taxpayer money, while discussing how to prevent similar scandals in the future.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Scope and Simplicity of the Fraud
[02:42–05:53]
- Massive scale: Fraud targeted the federal Child Nutrition Program, meant for hungry kids, exploiting a decentralized, poorly-supervised system.
- How it worked: “Feeding Our Future” acted as a fake watchdog, letting conspirators submit completely invented lists of children, fake purchase receipts, and made-up documentation to claim funds.
- Ease of fraud:
“The big thing that jumped out to me was how easy this fraud was to do. I could do that in five minutes on a computer if I had absolutely no conscience.”
— Joe Teirab [02:46] - Failure of oversight: Lack of regulatory controls, especially during COVID, made fraud straightforward and virtually untraceable until too late.
- Magnitude:
"Former acting U.S. attorney here in Minnesota, Joe Thompson, said the numbers on the magnitude of over $9 billion. Billion with a B. It's absolutely crazy."
— Joe Teirab [05:30]
2. Why Did It Go Undetected So Long?
[05:53–08:51]
- COVID loopholes: Relaxed auditing and suspension of physical site visits during the pandemic created a vacuum for theft.
- Bureaucratic incentives: Minnesota Department of Education officials were incentivized to look the other way, fearing political pushback.
- Weaponization of identity politics:
“When they did actually end up putting up a smoke signal...What did Feeding Our Future do? Led by Amy Bach, they alleged racism... And that actually won the day for a while.”
— Joe Teirab [06:43] - Regulatory failure: Bureaucrats hesitated to flag irregularities over fear of being accused of discrimination.
3. Political Connections & Lack of Accountability
[08:51–12:35]
- Direct links to political figures: Fraudsters held a documented meeting with Attorney General Keith Ellison, attempting to buy influence. Donations were made to Ellison, which he later returned, but only after alarms were raised.
"They were trying to curry favor with Keith Ellison...We need to make sure we have an attorney general who’s fighting for us.”
— Joe Teirab [09:20] - Political protection: Teirab argues Democratic leadership prioritized not alienating Somali voters—an important bloc—over prosecuting fraud.
“These folks knew about it...Keith Ellison knew about it, Walls knew about it, but they just didn't care to do much about it, maybe because, you know, that's a pretty important voting block for Democrats in Minnesota.”
— Joe Teirab [22:41]
4. The History and Dynamics of Fraud in Minnesota
[12:35–13:59]
- Longstanding fraud: Patterns of systemic fraud in state assistance programs predate this scandal, with whistleblowers ignored for years.
- Transitioning schemes: Similar methods have moved across sectors (childcare, nutrition, housing, disability assistance).
- Cultural and demographic factors: Tight-knit communities, honor-system-based state programs, and the absence of effective deterrents created an environment ripe for exploitation.
5. Details of Stolen Funds and Criminal Acts
[16:43–19:09]
- Lavish spending: Fraudsters bought luxury homes, cars, and overseas properties.
“He (Lebon Alishire) stole a bunch of money, over a million dollars...spent it on...a building complex in Kenya...fancy car and a new fancy house.”
— Joe Teirab [16:59] - Limited recovery: Only a small portion of money will ever be recovered.
“We're not going to get probably 2% of that back. I mean, we're not going to get hardly any of it just all wasted. All wasted.”
— Joe Teirab [18:50]
6. Ties to International Terrorism
[19:09–20:53]
- Allegations: Some stolen funds may have benefited terrorist group Al Shabaab, and Minnesota has a documented history of residents joining extremist groups overseas.
“A lot of the money was stolen...and it did go to Al Shabaab...we're having all this money that was meant to go to Minnesotans in Minnesota and then it goes to a terrorist organization.”
— Joe Teirab [19:25]
7. The National Dimension & Political Fallout
[21:02–24:55]
- Other states at risk: Minnesota’s scandal likely isn’t unique; similar schemes may exist elsewhere, especially in one-party–controlled states.
- Ongoing investigation: Federal authorities have yet to charge the full scope—only a fraction of the stolen amount has been prosecuted.
“There’s a lot more fraud yet to be charged...a lot more to happen, a lot more shoes to drop.”
— Joe Teirab [23:50] - Calls for accountability: Senior Democratic officials (including Ilhan Omar, Tim Walz, and Keith Ellison) are facing new scrutiny for their roles and prior knowledge.
8. Reform Proposals
[26:08–27:46]
- Need for robust oversight:
“We can’t expect, like I mentioned, some of these programs...but it’s just going to be so easy to defraud. There's got to be more checks and balances. There has to be more oversight and auditing.”
— Joe Teirab [26:25] - Data-driven monitoring: Compare program participation with population data; verify receipts and site operations.
- Empowering whistleblowers: Bureaucrats must feel safe flagging suspicious activity, without fear of political retribution.
- Guarding against false cries of racism: Oversight and race politics must be disentangled.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the ease of the fraud:
“I could do that in five minutes on a computer if I had absolutely no conscience.”
— Joe Teirab [02:46] - On bureaucratic apathy and identity politics:
“Claiming racism actually led to this not being uncovered for quite a while.”
— Joe Teirab [07:35] - On systemic issues:
“Where there’s no virtue, you need virtue in a democracy. Unfortunately we just had a lot of folks who didn’t have any virtue here.”
— Joe Teirab [13:39] - On future risk:
“There’s a lot more fraud yet to be charged...a lot more shoes to drop.”
— Joe Teirab [23:50] - On reforms:
“You have to give [bureaucrats] the ability to actually shut off the money and you...have to make it so that, you know, fake claims of racism aren't going to stop that from happening.”
— Joe Teirab [27:32]
Key Timestamps
- 02:42: Introduction to the scandal and its scale
- 04:11: How the fraud worked technically
- 06:11: COVID and regulation rollback explanations
- 08:51: Explaining political connections and potential influence
- 12:35: Why Minnesota is especially susceptible
- 16:43: Examples of stolen money used for luxury and overseas purchases
- 18:04: Prospects for recovery of stolen funds
- 19:09: Discussion on possible links to Al Shabaab
- 21:02: Are other states at risk?
- 22:00: Response from political leaders, lack of accountability
- 23:50: Future charges and open questions
- 25:09: Could politicians be implicated?
- 26:25: Reforming oversight and protections against fraud
Conclusion
Joe Teirab’s firsthand account spotlights a scandal enabled by broken oversight, politicized identity, and bureaucratic cowardice. While Minnesota’s fraud scandal is historic in scale, its lessons resonate nationwide as public funds flow ever-more rapidly with less scrutiny. Genuine reform — and honest, apolitical enforcement — are urgently needed to prevent more billions from vanishing unchallenged.