Somali Scammers May Have Stolen Enough Minnesota Medicaid Funds to Match Somalia's GDP
The amount of fraudulent billing in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs could be as high as $9 billion, Assistant United States Attorney Joe Thompson said Dec. 18.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the agency was already sending additional resources in an X post Sunday, saying the deployment occurred before a 42-minute video of independent journalist Nick Shirley visiting various day care centers went viral Friday. Thompson described the situation as involving “industrial-scale fraud,” according to CBS News Minnesota.
“When I say significant amount, I’m talking on the order of half or more, but we’ll see,” Thompson said. “When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers.”
BREAKING: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson stated he believes “half or more” of the $18 billion spent on 14 programs likely represents fraud in Minnesota.
During the conference, he highlighted 14 programs, including autism and housing services, that are flagged as… pic.twitter.com/f7hkxpMlD0
— FOX 9 (@FOX9) December 18, 2025
Somalia’s GDP was $11.97 billion in 2024, according to a release from the country’s Bureau of National Statistics. Whistleblowers in Maine and Ohio have alleged similar schemes by Somali scammers have taken place in those states.
Previously, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surged into the Minneapolis area to target illegal immigrants from Somalia after reports of at least $1 billion in fraud. Allegations that some of the stolen funds went to the radical Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab prompted a probe by the Treasury Department.
In his 42-minute viral video posted Friday to X, Shirley attempted to visit multiple day care centers run by Somalis that had reportedly received state funds, in many cases not finding children.
‘What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes,” Thompson said. “It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”
In November, a number of state employees accused Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of engaging in “systemic” retaliation against whistleblowers who warned of the fraud schemes. Walz has since criticized President Donald Trump over the administration’s response to the reported fraud.
Trump announced he would end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota in response to the allegations of the fraud scheme, and also said the influx of refugees had “destroyed our country.”
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