ST. PAUL, MN –  Senate Education Committee chair Roger Chamberlain (R- Lino Lakes) released an interim summary report of its findings from three separate hearings to examine the fraudulent spending in the Department of Education (MDE) free food programs during COVID.  

“The summary shows three things: The Department of Education did not follow state and federal law, they lacked accountability, and now refuse to acknowledge their shortcomings,” Chamberlain said. “Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars may be involved in this fraud, and the department simply cannot address the problem or recognize their mistakes.” 

The summary indicates while COVID restrictions may have made administration of the nutrition programs difficult, it also states, “numerous additional inexplicable shortcomings, and derelictions of duty at MDE greatly magnified the scope of the loss.” FBI reports indicate at least $48 million has been misspent, perhaps the largest fraudulent use of COVID dollars in the nation.   

“These are initial findings and they lead me to believe we need a full audit of this program to determine to total scope of the problem. Nearly 30 issues have been found through audits and federal investigations so far, so there is no doubt this needs additional work. I’ll be monitoring developments from federal authorities and the Legislative Auditor, and we are prepared to conduct more hearings, if necessary, to get to the bottom of this,” Chamberlain concluded.