Overview
- An investigation by City Journal, citing federal counterterrorism and law‑enforcement sources, reports that stolen Minnesota welfare funds were routed through hawala networks to Somalia, with some money reaching Al‑Shabaab.
- Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson says interconnected fraud cases across programs have stolen billions of dollars, with prosecutions expanding and additional defendants expected.
- The Minnesota Department of Human Services ended or paused the Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program after flagging widespread fraud and terminating payments to dozens of providers as payouts surged.
- Eight people were indicted in the HSS case, six identified by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as members of Minnesota’s Somali community, and prosecutors separately charged Asha Farhan Hassan in an alleged $14 million autism‑services kickback scheme.
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the 77th defendant in the Feeding Our Future case on Nov. 20, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has asked the new U.S. Attorney to investigate the reported Al‑Shabaab funding link.