Two recent legislative auditor reports exposing widespread fraud in Minnesota’s COVID-19 relief programs are incredibly troubling. The scale of wasted and stolen taxpayer dollars is staggering.
Start with the Feeding Our Future scandal, where over $250 million meant to feed hungry kids was stolen through an enormous fraud scheme. Despite countless red flags, MDE failed to shut this criminal enterprise down, enabling it to continue for years, unchecked.
Sadly, it is far from the only example of fraud the Walz administration has allowed to run rampant. The Frontline Worker Pay audit couldn’t verify a shocking $205 million — 41% of payments — due to a complete lack of eligibility screening. Fraudsters easily exploited this absence of oversight to steal using fake identities and dummy emails.
Previous audits already caught millions more in improper payments from rental, child care, and opioid treatment assistance. The more auditors investigate, the more widespread mismanagement they are uncovering across state agencies charged with safeguarding your tax dollars.
The total lack of oversight and lack of accountability is a recurring theme of Gov. Walz’s administration. It is an unacceptable betrayal of the public’s trust. Minnesotans have every right to expect our public servants to be vigilant in protecting not just our tax dollars, but the integrity of government assistance programs. Yet under Walz’s watch, hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted or stolen.
Every hardworking taxpayer following the rules should be outraged to see their money mishandled so egregiously. The ones most disrespected are those your tax dollars were supposed to help, but instead ended up lining criminal pockets.
Real accountability is needed to restore faith in state government programs, and we need to implement strict safeguards to prevent any more of these crimes in the future.
The process must begin with Gov. Walz removing the officials who enabled these fraud. He must bring in new leadership committed to integrity and accountability. The audits provide a roadmap of common-sense steps to verify eligibility, secure data, and tighten oversight. We should follow their recommendations.
For too long, the Walz administration has had a completely carefree attitude when it comes to protecting your money. This culture allowed fraud to escalate out of control. This attitude within the administration must change immediately.
Minnesotans already are heavily taxed; they deserve far better stewardship of that money than they are getting from the Walz administration. This should not be a partisan issue – protecting our tax dollars should unite all who believe in efficient, effective, and responsible government.
Hopefully these audits finally serve as a wake-up call for Gov. Walz to get this crisis under control. But that requires him to accept responsibility, hold officials accountable, and finally implement a rigorous anti-fraud plan immediately.
No more excuses – Minnesotans’ patience is exhausted. It’s time to get this right.