Fraud
February 9, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Stuck on a runway at Reagan tying to get home, I’m taking a look at the redacted report released by the Minnesota Department of Human Services this past Friday: Pre-payment solution roadmap and Rapid Response Team to improve detection of Fraud, Waste and Abuse in DHS health care programs: Vulnerability Assessment. The report was prepared by Optum, the consultant retained by the Minnesota Department of Human Services to address the
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February 8, 2026 — Bill Glahn
From The Hill newspaper, Oz alleges Maine ‘looks a lot like Minnesota’ regarding entitlement fraud. That’s TV’s Dr. Mehmet Oz, now the head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). And he should know, as he paid a visit to the nation’s center for fraud, Minneapolis-St. Paul, just last month. The Hill reports, The [Maine] allegations are similar to an investigation into alleged fraud in Minnesota, in which
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February 7, 2026 — Scott Johnson
RealClearPoitics highlighted Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt’s Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Somali scammers, as it happens, this past Wednesday. Senator Schmitt noticed the motif that Public Citizen co-CEO Robert Weissman and his organization rely on to express disapproval and coerce conforming behavior. RCP provided a transcript along with a video that included Schmitt’s exchange with the witness. The transcript is worth a look in its entrirety, but I have
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February 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing, chaired by Ted Cruz, on fraud in government programs in Minnesota. The hearing is embedded below. It featured several witnesses, not of equal quality. The most significant was my friend Rep. Kristin Robbins, whose testimony starts at 51:40. The most remarkable thing about the hearing was the performance of Democratic senators. Having nothing whatsoever to say about the subject of the hearing–fraud
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February 3, 2026 — Scott Johnson
While our friend and lodestar Victor Davis Hanson is recovering from cancer surgery, Jack Fowler invited me to stand in for Victor on Victor’s In His Own Words podcast. I have posted the video below. As I have occasion to say during the podcast, What a falling off was there! Thanks to Jack for the honor of having me step in to help keep things going until Victor returns, for
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February 2, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Living as we do in the Twin Cities, we struggle to see what is in front of our nose. Mark Steyn looks on from a distance and observes in his column “Minnesotacide” (links omitted)(also posted here at Jewish World Review): * * * * * The Lutheran church is the largest denomination in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, so, when Scandinavians emigrated to Minnesota, the applicable confessional adjective was an
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February 2, 2026 — Scott Johnson
In recent days we have seen the appearance of witnesses to Minnesota’s monstrous public-programs fraud. This is a selective compilation of some recent testimony. Minnesota’s Department of Human Services is the swamp from which the monster has appeared with forelegs outstretched. It’s like The Monster That Devoured Cleveland. I refer to it below as DHS. Ryan Thorpe interviewed Faye Bernstein for the January 26 City Journal column “Minnesota DHS Employee
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January 30, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Minnesota’s DFL Party has stirred up anti-ICE hysteria in part to deflect attention from the frauds that have made Minnesota the nation’s most corrupt state. But the immigration enforcement surge will soon be behind us, and the focus of local attention will return to the incompetence, or worse, of the Tim Walz administration. Power Line’s Scott Johnson and American Experiment’s Bill Glahn have covered the Minnesota fraud story longer and
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January 30, 2026 — Scott Johnson
RealClearPolitics has posted the video and transcript of CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz reporting from the Griggs-Midway Building at the corner of University and Fairview in St. Paul. Originally a canning factory and candy and cracker manufacturing facility, the building was reportedly the world’s largest canning factory when built. The main building was converted to office use in 1955 when Griggs Cooper ceased major operations there. Chuck Griggs, a descendant
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January 28, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Minnesota Fifth District Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown substance by a nut with a syringe at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis last night. Security guards subdued and apprehended her attacker, who was booked into the Hennepin County Jail. I’m glad she was unhurt. I especially loathe violence against politicians, law enforcement officers, and public officials. However, I intend to keep spraying Omar with the truth. The
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January 25, 2026 — Bill Glahn
As the crisis rages in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with no relief in sight, I offer my proposed solution to ending the mayhem. As John points out, none of this unrest is occurring anywhere else in America, or any other city, other than Minneapolis. Gov. Tim Walz has proposed as a compromise solution that all federal law enforcement should leave the state, immediately, so that no federal laws will be enforced. In
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January 24, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Imprimis is the distinguisued monthly publication of Hillsdale College. It goes out in hard copy to some 7,000,000 free subscribers (subcribe here) and is also posted online. Long-time Imprimis editor Doug Jeffrey invited me to write the January issue for readers who are only vaguely aware of Minnesota’s massive public-programs fraud. In my world Doug is a legendary editor. I was grateful for the opportunity to write for Imprimis and
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January 21, 2026 — Bill Glahn
Today, it was YouTuber Nick Shirley’s turn in the witness chair at a Congressional hearing. This morning, the occasion was a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. The hearing was captioned, When Public Funds Are Abused: Addressing Fraud and the Theft of Taxpayer Dollars. The hearing begins at 28:10, Mr. Shirley first appears beginning at 1:07:02. He did a fine job. Personally, I
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January 16, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Alluding to the title of Thomas Frank’s book on Kansas, Michael Barone devotes his weekly column to the question on the minds of many thinking people: “What’s the matter with Minnesota?” He arrives at a conclusion that we don’t see much of in the mainstream press, here or elewhere. I’m not sure what he’s referring to in his final paragraph with respect to legal theories occasionally advanced by the Trump
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January 15, 2026 — Bill Glahn
What to make of the current situation in Minneapolis? For a full decade now, I’ve been describing the ongoing de-evolution within the city limits as “Detroit on the Mississippi.” It turns out that I was far too optimistic about the city’s prospects. The word I hear uttered over and over again by the state’s Democratic politicians is “fear.” When I first started hearing that word repeated, I initially thought they
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January 14, 2026 — Bill Glahn
The long-promised, much-awaited sequel from young YouTuber Nick Shirley on the Minnesota fraud scandals finally dropped (as the kids say) late this afternoon. The new video clocks in at 51 minutes. The video is already closing in on 2 million views on X in its first few hours.
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January 12, 2026 — Bill Glahn
The Spectator‘s Australian branch is featuring my piece on upcoming events in Minnesota fraud, without the paywall, under the headline, 2026 is the year of the Somali benefits scandal. Media elsewhere continue to cover the story, Fox News: Minnesota fraud scandal sparks push to scrutinize billions in Biden-era energy grants. New York Post: Biden admin likely paid out $84.6M in error for Minnesota housing assistance — including to hundreds who
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