DHS, FBI Surge Agents to Minnesota in Wake Of Massive Fraud Reports
A recent increase in the number of federal law enforcement officers operating in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents, according to officials familiar with the investigations.
President Donald Trump has previously connected his administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota to a series of fraud cases tied to government assistance programs, many of which have involved defendants with roots in Somalia, ABC7 reports.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel announced this week that federal operations in Minnesota would be expanded.
The announcements followed the release of a video Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley, who alleged that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud.
Tikki Brown, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, said at a news conference Monday that state regulators were taking the allegations seriously, ABC7 said.
Noem posted on social media that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.” Patel said the goal was to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
Minnesota has faced heightened scrutiny for years over Medicaid fraud, including the roughly $300 million pandemic-era case involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors have described it as the largest COVID-19–related fraud scheme in the United States, alleging that defendants exploited a state-administered, federally funded program intended to provide meals for children.
The investigation began during the administration of Joe Biden. In 2022, federal prosecutors charged 47 individuals, a figure that has since grown to 78 as the case has expanded.
To date, 57 defendants have been convicted, either through guilty pleas or trial verdicts. Court records show that most of those charged are of Somali descent, noted ABC7.
Authorities say several additional fraud investigations remain ongoing, including new allegations centered on child care centers.
In interviews and press releases over the summer, federal prosecutor Joe Thompson estimated that total losses across multiple fraud cases in Minnesota could exceed $1 billion. Earlier this month, another federal prosecutor alleged that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funding provided to 14 programs in the state since 2018 may have been misappropriated.
Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota have largely focused on the Somali community in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, which is the largest such community in the United States. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota, 85 of the 98 defendants charged in cases involving alleged fraud tied to child nutrition, housing assistance, and autism programs are Somali Americans.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made the arrest announcement on Monday. Bondi said additional prosecutions are expected as the investigations continue.
Her announcement followed the release of a series of videos by Shirley. “[Nick Shirley’s] work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi said in an X statement late Monday.
“@TheJusticeDepartment has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals — 85 of Somali descent — and more than 60 have been found guilty in court,” she continued. “We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
Bondi went on to describe several of the cases they’d already prosecuted, including the Feeding Our Future scheme and a connected juror bribery case — a situation which, as Bondi noted, was “not unlike what you would see in the corrupt Somali judicial system.”
In September, a media release from the Department of Justice alleged that 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan received nearly $500,000 for her involvement in a $14 million autism fraud case.
“From November 2019 through December 2024, Asha Hassan and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the EIDBI autism services program. Hassan formed and registered Smart Therapy LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State in November 2019. Hassan listed herself as the sole owner of Smart Therapy,” said the release.
“Shortly after forming the company, Hassan enrolled Smart Therapy as a provider agency in the EIDBI program. …Hassan also enrolled Smart Therapy in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future,” it added.
Former Obama Official Resigns After Emails to Jeffrey Epstein Uncovered
A former White House counsel under President Barack Obama and most recently chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, has resigned following reports about extensive email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein.
Kathryn Ruemmler’s resignation follows revelations that she exchanged thousands of messages with Epstein, including correspondence sent years after his 2008 conviction on sex crimes charges.
The New York Post reported that some of Ruemmler’s emails included friendly and at times flirtatious language.
In a 2015 birthday message, she wrote, “I hope you enjoy the day with your one true love :-).” She signed other messages with “xoxo.”
In one exchange, Epstein replied with a vulgar joke, writing, “they say that men usually gvie [sic] a name to their penis, as [it] would be inappropriate to make love to a total stranger.”
Ruemmler responded that it’s “[h]ard to believe that there is still an open question about whether men are [the] inferior gender.”
The tone of the messages has drawn criticism, given Epstein’s criminal record and the allegations against him at the time.
Reports indicate Ruemmler may have offered strategic advice as Epstein faced renewed scrutiny.
As ABC News prepared a 2015 report involving accuser Virginia Giuffre, Ruemmler allegedly described the allegations as “fantastical” and “not [credible]” in emails to Epstein.
In another exchange involving Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote to Ruemmler that “she will do as you suggest” even if it conflicted with Maxwell’s personal attorney’s guidance.
The emails also suggest coordination regarding visits to Epstein’s private island and other travel arrangements.
Ruemmler reportedly sought Epstein’s input on career considerations, including when she was under consideration for U.S. attorney general.
Her representatives have denied any wrongdoing.
“Ms. Ruemmler has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide,” a Ruemmler representative told the New York Post. “Nothing in the record suggests otherwise.”
Goldman Sachs confirmed her departure but has not issued a detailed public statement.
Scrutiny of Epstein’s network of high-profile associates has continued as court records and communications have emerged.
Ruemmler’s resignation represents one of the most significant professional consequences tied to the resurfacing of Epstein-related correspondence.
The fallout from the Epstein scandal continues to affect figures in politics and finance.
France’s former Culture Minister, Jack Lang, has resigned from his position as head of a Paris cultural center due to alleged past financial ties to the infamous late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The allegations against Lang prompted a tax investigation into his connections, ultimately leading to his resignation.
As of this writing, Lang is the most prominent figure in France to be affected by the latest batch of Epstein files released on January 30, 2026, by the Justice Department. He is best known for serving as culture minister during the presidency of Socialist François Mitterrand in the 1980s and 1990s. Now 86 years old, Lang was scheduled to appear before the French Foreign Ministry, which oversees the Arab World Institute, but he chose to resign instead.
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Lang’s attorney, Laurent Merlet, spoke with RTL radio on Sunday, saying that he was “very sad and deeply hurt to be leaving a position he loves.” He added, “He put the interests of the Arab World Institute first,” saying his client has denied the allegations against him and said they were “inaccurate.” The Foreign Ministry confirmed Lang’s resignation earlier this week.
According to a report from ABC News, the financial prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into Lang and his daughter, Caroline, regarding allegations of “aggravated tax fraud and money laundering.”
