Minnesota Republican Representative Tom Emmer stated Monday that Governor Tim Walz and senior members of his administration should be prosecuted if whistleblower claims that they were warned about widespread fraud in Minnesota are proven true.
Emmer cited estimates that as much as $9 billion in federal and state taxpayer money has been lost to fraud schemes, including funds he said were funneled overseas.
“You’re talking about $9 billion in U.S. taxpayer and Minnesota taxpayer money — by the way, millions of it going back to Somalia to a known terrorist group, al-Shabaab,” Emmer said. “It’s criminal.”
Emmer praised independent journalist Nick Shirley for uncovering fraud tied to Somali-run daycare centers, saying the investigation exposed more wrongdoing in a single day than the Walz administration has found in years.
“Hats off to Nick Shirley and his colleague,” Emmer stated. “He found more in one day than Tim Walz has found in seven years. And the reason? He was looking for it.”
Emmer accused Walz and his administration of ignoring warning signs while fraud continued unchecked.
“Tim Walz has been looking the other way, and his administration has been looking the other way while these people have been bilking billions out of Minnesota,” he said.
According to Emmer, allegations of fraud at Somali daycare centers were already being investigated in 2017 and 2018 by then-Attorney General Lori Swanson, a Democrat.
“She was investigating Somali daycare fraud back in 2017 and 2018, and she was prosecuting,” Emmer said.
Emmer noted that Swanson later lost the Democratic endorsement for governor to Walz in 2018, while Walz’s ally Ellison won the attorney general’s race.
“Ellison said as soon as he became attorney general, there will be no more investigations without my express approval,” Emmer said. “And there haven’t been any investigations.”
