The FBI and the Homeland Security Department executed raids in the Twin Cities on Tuesday morning, targeting numerous Somali-owned businesses as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on fraud.
Federal agents obtained court-approved search warrants for more than 20 different locations in the Minneapolis area, Fox News reported. Most of the search warrants are for businesses connected to Somalis, including the infamous Quality “Learing” Center that was at the center of controversy late last year.
“Homeland Security Investigations in cooperation with our law enforcement partners executed criminal search warrants in Minneapolis relating to the rampant fraud of U.S. taxpayers dollars,” the DHS said.
No arrests were made in the early morning raids, but federal agents were seen taking photos and moving a portable file case inside a daycare in South Minneapolis, according to CBS News.
Minneapolis has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s anti-fraud task force after dozens of Somalis were arrested and charged with defrauding numerous Minnesota social programs since 2018. The task force, which Trump launched earlier this year, is spearheaded by Vice President JD Vance. Since taking over as fraud czar, Vance has zeroed in on 14 state programs in Minnesota, which include autism service providers and medical service transports that the administration believes are rife with fraud.
Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican Congressman and the House Majority Whip, said on Tuesday that Minnesota taxpayers are “grateful” for the Trump administration’s action.
“President Trump and his administration have made it crystal clear — our country will not tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse, and we are not going to allow people to take advantage of Americans’ generosity,” he said in a release. “Minnesotans and U.S. taxpayers across the nation are grateful.”
Tuesday’s raids are not the first time federal agents have been on the ground at suspected fraud sites in the Minneapolis area. In late December, Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted door-to-door checks at daycares and healthcare centers suspected of fraud. Those checks, however, did not include court-authorized raids of the businesses.
Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have been accused of attempting to cover up the massive fraud scandal that has seen billions of taxpayer dollars stolen from state government programs. The years-long fraud scheme included the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which received federal funding to provide meals to hungry children during the COVID pandemic but distributed little food and exaggerated its numbers.
In December, independent journalist Nick Shirley brought attention back onto Minnesota and Governor Walz with his reporting on Somali-owned daycares that received taxpayer dollars but appeared to have no children in their buildings.
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