Walz Slammed by His Own Workers Over Massive Scam

Hundreds of employees at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) are publicly accusing Gov. Tim Walz of presiding over — and covering up — what has become the largest COVID-19 fraud scandal in the United States. The group alleges that Walz not only failed to act on early warnings but also retaliated against staff who tried to report wrongdoing.

The claims center on the Feeding Our Future scandal, a sweeping scheme in which more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds intended to feed low-income children during the pandemic was stolen by dozens of fraudulent operators.

DHS Staff: “Tim Walz Is 100% Responsible”

In a statement posted Saturday on X, an account representing more than 480 DHS employees issued a blistering condemnation of the governor.

“Tim Walz is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota. We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on… but we got the opposite response,” the group wrote.

The employees allege they were subjected to monitoring, threats, reassignment, efforts to discredit them, and pressure to stay silent as they attempted to alert leadership to suspicious activity.

“It’s scary, isolating and left us wondering who we can turn to,” the group added.

Their accusations come as the Justice Department last week charged the 78th defendant in the Feeding Our Future network. At least 59 individuals have been convicted so far.

How the Fraud Worked

During the pandemic, Feeding Our Future — a Minnesota nonprofit founded in 2016 — partnered with numerous local organizations to distribute meals to schoolchildren.

Prosecutors say many of these organizations were fronts, billing Minnesota for tens of thousands of phantom meals and claiming to feed children at nonexistent sites.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were instead funneled into:

• Luxury real estate abroad

• High-end vehicles

• Commercial properties

• Lavish personal spending

Feeding Our Future dissolved in 2022 as federal investigations intensified.

But prosecutors say the fraud extended far beyond one nonprofit. The state’s generous social-service programs became a target for fraudulent billing schemes across multiple sectors, including homelessness assistance.

One homelessness program ballooned from $2.6 million in 2021 to $104 million in 2022, a surge federal investigators linked to widespread deception, according to The New York Times.

Whistleblowers: Leadership Feared Appearing “Discriminatory”

The DHS employee group also alleges that leadership avoided confronting the fraud because many perpetrators were part of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora community, which numbers around 80,000.

“Leadership did not want to appear to discriminate against certain communities and were unwilling to take action,” the employees wrote.

They say attempts to restrict payments or increase scrutiny were sometimes blocked explicitly to avoid political backlash.

Federal agents ultimately raided multiple nonprofit offices in the Twin Cities as the investigation expanded.

Walz Downplays Scandal, Blames Trump

Gov. Walz has repeatedly defended his administration, arguing that federal agencies conducted the majority of the investigative and prosecutorial work — and suggesting former President Trump is exploiting the scandal for political gain.

“I take responsibility for putting people in jail,” Walz told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

He accused Trump of “deflecting” and offering “no solutions,” adding, “There’s a big difference between fraud and corruption — and corruption is something he knows about.”

Trump, for his part, has labeled Minnesota “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

Republicans: Walz Allowed Fraud to Explode

Minnesota Republicans say the governor failed to rein in a system ripe for abuse.

“Minnesota has become the land of 10,000 frauds under Tim Walz,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN). “The Walz administration is either too incompetent or completely unwilling to clean up their own mess.”

The DHS employee group added that Walz-appointed leaders weakened internal safeguards, sidelined the Office of the Legislative Auditor, and even threatened families of whistleblowers to keep misconduct hidden.

A System Under Strain

As more defendants face trial and sentencing, Minnesota’s social-service agencies continue to face scrutiny. Federal prosecutors say the fraud spanned several programs, dozens of shell companies, and hundreds of millions of dollars in improper claims.

DHS employees say the problem was not isolated — it was systemic.

“This is a cascade of systemic failures leading up to Tim Walz,” the group charged.

With prosecutions ongoing and political pressure mounting, Minnesota’s government is now under intense national scrutiny over how such unprecedented fraud went unchecked — and why those who tried to expose it say they were punished instead.