Walz seems to have gotten himself in quite a bit of trouble. His vice presidential campaign could suffer greatly from it.
And Congress just smacked Tim Walz with a brutal threat he can’t hide from.
The House Education and Workforce Committee issued a subpoena to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Wednesday, demanding records related to a $250 million fraud scheme involving COVID-19 relief funds under his administration.
Walz, who is also the Democratic vice-presidential nominee at 60, was ordered to provide all relevant documents about the scandal.
The scheme involved misallocation of federal pandemic relief funds through the “Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) administration of federal child nutrition programs (FCNP),” which were meant to assist hungry children during the pandemic.
However, instead of serving those in need, the funds were diverted by a fraudulent nonprofit, Feeding Our Future, based in Minneapolis. The money funded extravagant purchases, including luxury cars and overseas real estate in Turkey and Kenya, benefiting those behind the scam.
State agencies were responsible for distributing the funds and submitting reimbursement claims to the USDA, but the process was manipulated for personal gain.
In a letter accompanying the subpoena, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) stated, “The Committee must now compel the production of responsive documents that will show the extent of the actions taken by you and your administration relating to MDE’s administration of the FCNP and the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children.”
From April 2020 to January 2022, at least 70 individuals were charged for their involvement in what has been described as a “depraved and brazen” fraud. FBI raids eventually exposed the fraudulent operation, but only five individuals have been convicted so far. The scheme is regarded as the largest COVID-19 relief fraud case in the U.S.
A legislative audit in June revealed that MDE had “created opportunities for fraud” and failed to maintain adequate oversight during the two-year period when the money was being disbursed.
The audit also criticized the department for not acting on warning signs of potential fraud, which were apparent even before the pandemic began and before Feeding Our Future’s operation took off.
Governor Walz admitted to the Minnesota Reformer that he had been aware of the nonprofit’s suspicious activities as early as November 2020 when MDE initially attempted to stop the payments. However, the payments were allowed to continue after Feeding Our Future filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.
In September 2022, following the first federal indictments, Walz publicly stated that he had attempted to halt the fraud in April 2021. He placed the blame on a Minnesota judge, claiming a court order forced the state to continue the payments.
Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann took the unusual step of releasing a public statement to clarify that “inaccurate statements by the Governor” had misrepresented the situation.
According to Guthmann, MDE had voluntarily resumed the payments after reporting that Feeding Our Future had addressed the deficiencies that initially led to the suspension of funds. The payments were made “without any court order,” the judge stated.
In a further twist, Walz awarded one of the key figures in the fraud scheme an “Outstanding Refugee Award” in July 2021, despite her role in the same fraudulent activity, albeit through another nonprofit involved in the scam.
Foxx’s letter to Walz also pointed out that media reports and statements by the governor and his administration indicated that they had knowledge of MDE’s management of the program and the fraud.
Over the past 10 months, Foxx said, the committee had made numerous requests for documentation but had been unable to obtain substantive materials, necessitating the subpoena.
In addition to subpoenaing Walz, the committee will also request documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its inspector general’s office. The records must be submitted by September 18.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
