It was recently uncovered legislation passed in 2023 has led to parents across the state being defrauded by deficient “tutoring” services. In 2023, Success Tutoring testified in favor of a bill that raised the income ceiling and increased the amount of the K-12 Education Tax Credit. That bill was later rolled into a larger tax package that passed along party lines in the Senate, leading to increased state spending on the credit, jumping from $5.3 million in 2022 to $13.7 million in 2023. The bill was carried by Representative Matt Norris in the House and Senator Mary Kunesh in the Senate.

Success Tutoring, a company that claims to help students overcome learning curves and language barriers, was a primary beneficiary of this bill. Success Tutoring was found to be defrauding parents by forcing them to sign paperwork, promising tutoring for children, and then taking parents’ tax returns even if the tutoring service was not deemed sufficient. It was also found that they were outsourcing tutoring positions to individuals in the Philippines, who they were paid less than $5 an hour, and many of whom faced language barriers with the students. Many parents were dissatisfied with the service, and have not only lost multiple years’ worth of tax return money, they have also now reached a dead end in trying to recover their funds.

“It is unconscionable this was allowed to happen – there were no safeguards in the bill and they were clearly not even considered by the House and Senate Chief Authors,” said Senator Michael Kreun (R-Blaine). “The way this program is set up, parents are signing away their tax returns to a company that claims to tutor children, but their money is being signed away before results are even seen – this has led to many parents completely losing tax returns for multiple years. 

“This is another example of the waste, fraud, and abuse that has run rampant through Minnesota in recent years. Democrats are not protecting taxpayers and their dollars seriously enough. They are actively propping up companies taking advantage of communities throughout the state, relying on the fact those communities do not have the tools to fight the fraud they are encountering. 

“Senate Republicans have repeatedly sounded the alarm on this issue – Democrats continue to fund untested nonprofits with taxpayer dollars, and then ignore the negative outcomes harming families across the state. We must prohibit private companies from hiding behind state-funded programs while they take advantage of Minnesotans. We need to put safeguards in place immediately, and we must ensure these groups are never again able to prey on and defraud Minnesota families.”