MINNEAPOLIS (CN) – The Department of Justice announced charges against 15 people in Minnesota on Thursday in connection with health care fraud schemes that are said to have targeted more than $90 million in taxpayer dollars.
At a news conference packed with Trump administration officials, Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general in the national fraud enforcement division, said the charges involve several Minnesota Medicaid programs “systematically ripped off by fraudsters” — adding that today’s announcement marks the highest amount of loss ever charged in a Minnesota Medicaid case.
“This is not the end of our work in Minnesota … this is the beginning of our work in Minnesota,” McDonald said. “The cheating here in Minnesota is shocking.”
The announcement comes the same day Feeding Our Future pandemic-era founder Aimee Bock was sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison for running a scheme that targeted $250 million in taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs over Covid-19.
“The ripple effects of her actions are profound, immeasurable and will have lasting consequences for both Minnesota and the nation,” prosecutors said in a statement. court filing this week when he seeks a 50-year sentence. “The brazen and shocking nature of her crimes has shaken Minnesota to its core, leaving lasting damage and eroding public trust.”
Minnesota District Attorney Daniel Rosen noted the success in getting Bock convicted, but shared similar sentiments with McDonald about the work still to come.
“While this scam in itself is surprising, the truth is Feeding Our Future is just the beginning and we believe it’s only part of the scam that is actually going on here in the state of Minnesota,” he said at the press conference.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — who has come under fire from lawmakers and critics over alleged social services fraud in the state — thanked federal prosecutors Thursday for their years of hard work to hold Bock accountable.
Some of the new charges announced Thursday include alleged fraud in state programs that provide grants to child care providers, help homeless residents secure and maintain housing and provide medical services to people with autism spectrum disorder.
The latter, according to McDonald, marks “the largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the Department of Justice,” and specifically involves an autism clinic owner and employee accused of making over $40 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims.
Eight defendants are accused of defrauding Housing Stabilization Services, a program designed to help people with disabilities, including the elderly and those with mental illness, find housing of nearly $16 million.
Minnesota was forced to end the program in October 2025 due to fraud.
McDonald said 11 task force prosecutors from across the country have been sent to Minnesota to help prosecute these cases and announced a new, statewide Medicaid strike force team will be deployed across the country to tackle rampant fraud.
“To the deceivers, eat, drink and be merry today, for your days of joy and freedom are numbered,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to find you, and when we do, we will prosecute you and recover every dollar you have stolen from the American people.”
Federal prosecutors estimate the state’s fraud problem could reach or exceed the $9 billion range. While Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz previously dismissed the number as mere speculation, McDonald said Thursday he wouldn’t be surprised if it was a low ball.
President Donald Trump has made a national crackdown on fraud a cornerstone of his second-term agenda, with a major focus on fraud investigations at Somali-run day care centers in the Twin Cities.
“If you commit fraud in Minnesota, you’re going to get caught, and that’s exactly what we saw today,” Walz said in a post on X that Trump administration officials quickly rebuked himclaiming he had no part in the raid.
One of the sites raided included the “Quality Learning Center,” which gained national attention after YouTuber Nick Shirley—whom Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz thanked him at Thursday’s press conference – claiming to have uncovered millions in fraud in the country.
In February, the Trump administration announced plans to temporarily freeze $243 million in Medicaid funding — and another $91 million in April — to Minnesota over fraud concerns, prompting prompt legal action from the state.
When asked Thursday about Minnesota’s cooperation in sharing reports related to the postponement, Oz said that if they had met the needs, the money would have already been released.
“Medicaid is the primary payer of last resort for our neediest, most vulnerable citizens, and when we’re unable to keep these programs alive because of fraudsters, it hurts us all deeply,” he said.
Walz, who dropped his bid for re-election this year mainly due to the review of social services fraud, repeatedly push back against the Trump administration’s heavy focus on the North Star State — claiming its actions are nothing more than a “punishment campaign” aimed at punishing Trump’s political opponents.
The outgoing governor announced a anti-fraud package for the state in February, and claims his administration has spent years cracking down on fraudsters, despite drawing the ire of the federal government.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was originally supposed to be at the news conference, said in a press release at least one Medicaid recipient died as a result of “swindlers” who stole taxpayer dollars while providing substandard care to children, adding that the DOJ’s Fraud Division and the White House Fraud Task Force will “dismantle illegal schemes” across the country.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and the Minnesota Governor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing arguments provides the latest on ongoing trials, major litigation and decisions in courts around the US and the world, while monthly Under the lights feeds legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
