A 205-page congressional report released Monday accused Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison of repeatedly contradicting public statements regarding the state’s massive Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. The House Oversight Committee’s Republican majority detailed multiple instances where Ellison and Governor Tim Walz allegedly knew about fraud concerns years earlier than publicly acknowledged. The scandal exposed widespread waste and abuse across Minnesota’s social services programs, with federal prosecutors estimating potential losses reaching $9 billion in high-risk Medicaid programs alone. The report concluded investigators could not determine whether Ellison’s actions represented “incompetence, willful blindness or worse.”
Committee members said both Ellison and Walz became aware of fraud in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program as early as April 2020. Additional concerns about the Child Care Assistance Program and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation program surfaced in spring 2019. Despite this knowledge, the report alleges, corrective actions did not materialize until federal investigators publicly revealed their pandemic-fraud probe two years later. The timeline connects to more than $300 million in Feeding Our Future fraud and billions in suspected Medicaid program fraud.
Attorney general’s office disputes timeline and characterization
Ellison’s office issued a strong rebuttal, calling the Republican report “riddled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations in order to politicize the issue of fraud.” Spokesman Brian Evans told reporters the attorney general fought fraud wherever possible and as soon as legally permitted. Evans emphasized Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has charged and convicted over 340 Medicaid fraudsters, ranking as one of the nation’s most effective fraud-fighting units. The office maintained jurisdictional limitations prevented earlier action in non-Medicaid criminal cases, which require referrals from county attorneys or the governor’s office.
The defense highlighted recent legislative efforts by Ellison to broaden his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s authority. Officials stressed the report fails to properly distinguish between powers held by the attorney general’s office versus other state agencies. Governor Walz’s spokesman dismissed the congressional investigation as “nothing more than a joke,” accusing the committee of rehashing pandemic-era fraud to distract from current federal administration controversies.
Contradictions in public statements and meeting recordings
The committee identified significant discrepancies in Ellison’s public accounts. In September 2022, Ellison issued a press release claiming he stepped in during “Fall of 2020” to advise the Minnesota Department of Education against legal threats from Feeding Our Future. However, testimony from MDE Assistant Commissioner Daron Korte revealed the department faced confrontation from the nonprofit in April 2020. The report noted several months passed before MDE declared “serious deficiency” in the organization’s compliance with federal program rules and issued a stop-pay order.
Particularly controversial was audio evidence presented during the trial of Feeding Our Future leader Aimee Bock. Exhibit 710 included a nearly hour-long recording from 2021 showing Ellison meeting with several individuals later convicted of fraud. The group included Salim Said, owner of a now-defunct Somali restaurant convicted of 20 felonies, and Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, who pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government of millions. Ellison initially told reporters he expected to meet only with Imam Mohamed Omar, a personal friend, and was surprised other attendees were present.
Federal investigation and congressional testimony reveal jurisdictional claims
During congressional testimony, Ellison told Representative Anna Paulina Luna that the group approached him seeking help with “difficulties with the bureaucracy.” He stated he investigated their claims, then worked with federal authorities to prosecute suspects, resulting in 57 convictions. The report found some meeting attendees had pledged the Somali community’s political and financial support to Ellison if he intervened in their claims of racial profiling or discrimination by government agencies. Ellison reportedly responded he would help “fight these people.”
The committee discovered contradictions in Ellison’s explanations of his prosecutorial authority across different testimonies. He told House members he has jurisdiction over Medicaid fraud investigations but other criminal cases must come through county attorney referrals. This statement omitted his previous Senate testimony acknowledging non-Medicaid criminal cases could also be referred by the governor’s office. When Representative Eric Burlison confronted Walz about the meeting recording during a hearing, the governor claimed he was hearing it for the first time and refused to speculate on its implications.
Committee findings prompt White House task force referral
The investigation detailed how Minnesota officials hedged on enforcement actions against Feeding Our Future despite having authority to act. Korte testified MDE resumed payments to the organization out of fear of litigation, even after identifying serious compliance deficiencies. The committee characterized Ellison’s approach as waiting for federal authorities to handle investigations rather than exercising state prosecutorial powers. Republican members noted corrective actions only materialized after FBI pandemic-fraud investigations became public knowledge in 2022.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer expressed alarm at the findings and sent a formal letter Monday to Vice President JD Vance. The correspondence requested the White House Task Force to eliminate fraud conduct its own thorough review of Minnesota’s social services programs. The March 2026 congressional hearing gave both Walz and Ellison opportunities to explain their actions, but the committee found their answers insufficient. The report’s release intensifies scrutiny on Minnesota’s handling of federal program funds and raises questions about oversight mechanisms designed to prevent such widespread fraud.
