A series of multimillion-dollar alleged fraud schemes in Minnesota has drawn the Trump administration's attention in recent weeks, vaulting an issue that has brewed in state politics for years into the national conversation.
President Trump has called Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity," and has lashed out against the state's Somali community as most of the fraud defendants were of Somali descent — drawing stiff criticism from local officials. This week, the administration launched enhanced immigration operations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Meanwhile, U.S. House Republicans launched an investigation Wednesday into Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's handling of the fraud cases, and the U.S. Treasury said Monday it will look into whether tax dollars from Minnesota made their way to al Shabaab, a Somali-based al Qaeda affiliate. And federal prosecutors have continued to bring new charges against alleged fraudsters in the Midwestern state in recent months.
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