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Minnesota Whistleblower: Walz Officials Ordered Me to Delete Fraud Report, Then Shut Down My Unit

A former Minnesota Department of Human Services investigator testified Tuesday that senior state officials ordered him to bury evidence of widespread childcare fraud — testimony that came the same day FBI agents executed search warrants on more than 20 Minneapolis daycare facilities.

Jay Swanson, a former state trooper who served as a criminal investigator for Minnesota’s DHS Office of Inspector General, told the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention Committee that in August 2018 a senior DHS official instructed him to route his answers to legislative auditors through the department rather than directly to the Office of the Legislative Auditor — and then told him to delete paragraphs from his fraud report. “Beginning in 2017, we became dismayed and shocked by the response of some senior DHS officials to whom we reported the fraud,” Swanson testified. WPR

Swanson also revealed that Minnesota’s reputation as an easy target was well known internationally — even in refugee camps overseas. “More than once I heard an owner or employee say they first heard about the daycare scam while in a refugee camp in Kenya,” he testified. “They had heard you could run the scam in a number of different states, but it was easiest and you could make the most money doing it in Minnesota.” Just The News

Among the most striking testimony was Swanson’s account of a text message exchange he reviewed between a daycare owner and a friend. The friend asked how much longer the owner planned to run the daycare scam. The owner replied: “Another year or two. I want to buy some nice homes in Nairobi.” The owner was on public assistance at the time of the exchange and was on vacation in Dubai when the texts were sent. FOX6 News Milwaukee

State Rep. Kristin Robbins, the committee chair, said the Walz administration didn’t just ignore the findings — it shut down the criminal investigation unit entirely. “After the OLA reports came out, the Walz administration took a look at that and rather than accelerating the criminal investigations, they closed the criminal investigation unit. That allowed the fraud to continue. There was no criminal deterrent anymore. The people got sanctioned for overpayment and then just kept billing the state. The Walz administration enabled the fraud to flourish by stopping the criminal investigations,” Robbins said. Just The News

The testimony landed the same day federal agents raided more than 20 Minneapolis childcare centers. Walz attempted to claim credit for the raids, saying “if you commit fraud in Minnesota you’re going to get caught.” FBI Director Kash Patel fired back on X: “Come again? This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today. But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.” Wislawjournal

Since 2021, 92 people have been charged in related fraud schemes, with 67 convicted. The Feeding Our Future scandal alone — in which organizers fraudulently billed for meals never served to children during COVID — resulted in estimated losses of $300 million. Walz dropped his bid for a third term in January, announcing the appointment of a “fraud czar” amid the escalating scandal. Urban Milwaukee

Sources: Fox News | CBS News Minnesota | CBS Minnesota Timeline | House Oversight Committee