Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said that the FBI has deployed personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to "dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs," in a Sunday announcement on X/Twitter.
"To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID," Patel announced.
"The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg," he commented.
Patel claimed that the FBI was investigating the fraud even before social media chatter began spreading. "Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide," he said.
The FBI investigation "exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network," he added.
Patel: 'Historic fraud, subversion of justice'
"The case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions," Patel clarified, naming defendantswho were charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy.
"These criminals didn’t just engage in historic fraud, but tried to subvert justice as well," he continued.
They were charged for "attempting to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash," commenting that they pled guilty, and were sentenced.
The Trump administration in recent weeks has portrayed Minnesota's Somali immigrant community as a hotspot for fraud involving millions of federal dollars intended for social services. Most people charged in major fraud cases announced recently in Minnesota are of Somali descent, CBS News reported, citing the US Attorney's Office for Minnesota.
US President Donald Trump, a Republican, has cited those investigations in criticism of the Somali diaspora and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was the Democratic nominee for vice president in the 2024 election.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for further details about Patel's comment. Walz's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The comments come two days after an online report documented allegedly inactive daycare facilities that had received public funds. US Representative Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, shared the video in a Friday social media post asking for a response from Walz. Vice President JD Vance shared the report with his X followers the next day.
The US Treasury Department is investigating allegations that tax dollars from Minnesota may have been diverted to the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on December 1.
People of Somali origin are among those arrested in an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, federal officials said on December 4, two days after US President Donald Trump hurled insults at immigrants from the Horn of Africa country and said he wanted them out of the United States.