Minnesota governor pushes back against food fraud criticism – By Steve Karnowski (Associated Press) / Sept 22, 2022
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tim Walz pushed back Thursday against critics who say his administration should have done more to thwart what federal prosecutors have called a scheme to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud the U.S. government of at least $250 million.
Walz said the Minnesota Department of Education’s hands were tied by a court order for it to resume food program payments despite concerns the state had raised. And he said the FBI asked the state to continue the reimbursements while its investigation continued.
Federal authorities on Tuesday announced charges against 48 people in Minnesota on conspiracy and other counts in what they said was the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme yet. Many of the companies that claimed to be serving food to low-income children were sponsored by a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future.
The defendants allegedly created companies that claimed to be offering meals to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement through Feeding our Future from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programs. But prosecutors said few meals were actually served, and the defendants spent the money on luxury cars, property and jewelry. The government has so far recovered $50 million.
