LOEFFLER: Vast network of Somali nonprofits ripped off Minnesota’s welfare state

Somali-American refugee Abdi Iftin joins Will Cain to take you inside the world of Somali immigration to America. Plus, Chef Andrew Gruel breaks down the ideal American Christmas meal and a top Christmas movies draft.

When the news broke of convictions for rampant fraud across several pandemic programs in Minnesota, the $1 billion price tag and over 90 indictments were staggering. We now know this is a very low estimate of the price Americans have paid to fund deeply corrupt state-administered welfare programs.  

The criminal nature of the scandal rocked the country: a vast network of Somali nonprofits systematically ripped off federal programs and denied Minnesota families of vital services at the height of the pandemic. In defrauding programs for nutrition, education and healthcare, the massive and sophisticated enterprise siphoned billions in taxpayer dollars. 

Thanks to lax oversight under Democrat Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, organized crime crept in and then brazenly flourished.  Even when dozens of whistleblowers repeatedly raised concerns to state oversight bodies and to his own office, Walz simply blamed racism and shrugged off the allegations.  

The governor recently defended the state’s "generosity" which allowed Somali fraudsters to purchase luxury cars, homes and vacations at the expense of hungry Minnesotans. Its welfare state is widely considered a magnet for those seeking to become beneficiaries. Alarmingly, welfare is now the state’s single-largest annual expenditure — higher than education, highways and public safety.  

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