Vance refers Minnesota fraud allegations to DOJ for investigation

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

Vice President JD Vance said the Department of Justice’s Fraud Division will investigate allegations that Minnesota officials failed to stop widespread taxpayer-funded fraud.

Vance said in a statement that it will be “criminal” investigations.

“Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice,” he said.

The announcement follows Monday’s release of a 205-page report from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that accused officials under Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of failing to act on repeated warnings about fraud, as previously reported by The Center Square.

Federal officials estimate that failure allowed upwards of $9 billion in taxpayer monies to be stolen across multiple programs.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent Vance a letter alongside the report requesting a federal review of Minnesota’s social service programs. Comer praised Vance’s decision.

“You are 100% right: Minnesota officials are not above the law,” Comer said. “The Trump administration is calling on the DOJ’s Fraud Division to conduct a full criminal investigation into Governor Walz’s failure to protect taxpayers. We won’t stop here.”

The Walz administration and Ellison’s office have previously disputed similar allegations. They did not respond to requests from The Center Square for comment.