Overview
- The U.S. Treasury will increase reporting requirements for money services businesses and issue a geographic targeting order to channel suspicious-activity data to FinCEN in response to the Minnesota scandal.
- Governor Tim Walz appointed a director of program integrity to coordinate a statewide anti-fraud push and said pandemic-era waivers created openings that criminals exploited.
- Federal cases tied to the nutrition program have resulted in over 60 convictions for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic funds.
- President Donald Trump amplified the case with accusations against Minnesota’s Somali community and said immigration enforcement operations targeting Somalis in the state are planned, while offering no evidence for claims about “gangs.”
- Community defenders argued it is wrong to blame all Somali Minnesotans, noting that a limited group of individuals of varied backgrounds took advantage of loosened oversight.