Republican Minnesota State Senator Michael Holmstrom Jr. has accused Governor Tim Walz and his administration of perpetuating widespread fraud tied to Somali-run organizations, resulting in the Small Business Administration freezing more than $5 million in federal grants that legitimate entrepreneurs relied on.
“This fraud has been perpetuated,” Holmstrom said. “The administration doesn’t care. And then these programs keep getting cut.”
The lawmaker reported hearing from local providers and businesses about the growing pain caused by the crisis, stating that the state’s failure to confront fraud head-on has left federal agencies with no choice but to shut off funding.
“The actual areas that should be focused on, the state is not interested,” Holmstrom said. “They’re obfuscating.”
Holmstrom criticized Walz for tone-deaf behavior during the scandal, noting that the governor spent the weekend posting cat memes while Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was reportedly “throwing on a hijab and pretending to be part of the Somali community to try to gather votes for her Senate run.”
The lawmaker also revealed that Minnesota’s Department of Human Services had scheduled training sessions for members of the Somali community on accessing DHS funds — even as fraud investigations continued to mount.
Holmstrom cited previous scandals, including the Feeding Our Future case, which federal prosecutors estimate cost taxpayers billions of dollars. He accused Minnesota media of ignoring the crisis, pointing to a year-end wrap-up by The Minnesota Star Tribune that failed to mention the fraud scandal.
“They did not mention this fraud scandal once,” Holmstrom said. “That’s the type of media we have here in Minnesota.”
