Trump admin orders investigation of MN, stepping on its own prosecutors

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent has ordered an investigation of ties between Somali-Americans convicted of stealing money from public programs and al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorism outfit.

Bessent announced the investigation via social media, replying to a post from right-wing propagandist Christopher Rufo, who recently published an article claiming that ill-gotten gains from Minnesota have wound up in the hands of al-Shabaab.

Bessent’s investigation would seem to be duplicative, however.

Over the past three years, federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged 78 people in what they have called the largest pandemic relief fraud in the country, known as Feeding Our Future after a nonprofit that bilked a food aid program out of at least $250 million. They’ve charged others with Medicaid fraud.

They’ve yet to charge a single person with terrorism financing, however, even though the office has a previous history of charging Somalis for ties to al-Shabaab and ISIS.

Federal prosecutors have reported that fraudsters spent their proceeds on lavish purchases, including real estate abroad. But not in Somalia, which has no formal banking system.

The al-Shabaab claim is not new. Fox9 reported in 2018 that child care fraud was funding Al-Shabaab. In his recent article, Rufo even cited the same retired Seattle police detective as the Fox9 story from seven years ago. There were no federal charges leveled then either, and a report from the Office of Legislative Auditor could not substantiate the al-Shabaab connection.

If fraudsters sent money to Somalia via cash remittances to rural areas of the country controlled by al-Shabaab, it’s possible the group would have “taxed” the money and wound up with some of it.

But former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said recently that the fraudsters were not motivated by ideology. They “were looking to get rich, not fund overseas terrorism,” he told the Star Tribune.

The Star Tribune reports that Gov. Tim Walz said last week that he welcomed an investigation.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Walz said. But he added, “I don’t know if they’ll find the connection.”

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.