Homeland Security says a fraud investigation is underway in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal Homeland Security officials were conducting a fraud investigation on Monday in Minneapolis, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Noem posted a video on the social platform X showing DHS officers going into an unidentified business and questioning the person working behind the counter. Noem said that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.”

“The American people deserve answers on how their taxpayer money is being used and ARRESTS when abuse is found,” U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement posted.

The action comes a day after FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the agency had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

Patel said that previous fraud arrests in Minnesota were “just the tip of a very large iceberg.”

A federal prosecutor alleged earlier in December that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said then that fraud will not be tolerated and that his administration “will continue to work with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught.”

President Donald Trump has criticized Walz’s administration over the fraud cases that to date have resulted in dozens of people being charged with stealing $250 million in a pandemic-related fraud scheme to steal from federal programs.

A spokesperson for Walz did not immediately respond to an email Monday seeking comment.

In recent weeks, tensions have been high between state and federal enforcement in the area as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown focused on the Somali community in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which is the largest in the country.