Attorney General Pam Bondi disclosed Monday that federal prosecutors have already brought charges against 98 individuals in Minnesota for fraud-related offenses, with 85 of those charged being of Somali descent.
The Department of Justice confirmed that additional prosecutions are in the pipeline.
The announcement follows mounting evidence of widespread fraud schemes operating within certain Minnesota communities.
The revelation came after independent journalist Nick Shirley published a series of investigative videos suggesting fraudulent activity extended far beyond the previously reported Feeding Our Future case.
That scandal involved a Minneapolis nonprofit accused of stealing government funds designated for feeding vulnerable families.
Shirley’s most recent video, which went public last week, caught the attention of federal authorities and sparked renewed scrutiny of fraud operations in the state.
Bondi credited the YouTuber’s investigative work in a statement posted on social media platform X late Monday evening.
She stated his reporting helped expose the magnitude of fraud occurring under the watch of Governor Tim Walz’s administration.
“[Nick Shirley’s] work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi wrote.
She confirmed the Justice Department had been conducting investigations for several months prior to the announcement.
Of the 98 individuals charged so far, more than 60 have already been convicted in federal court.
Bondi emphasized that prosecutors are preparing additional cases for indictment.
“We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!” the attorney general warned in her statement.
Bondi outlined several major fraud schemes already prosecuted by federal authorities.
These included the Feeding Our Future operation and a related case involving attempted bribery of a juror.
The attorney general drew a comparison between the juror bribery attempt and corruption typical of Somalia’s judicial system.
Beyond Feeding Our Future, investigators uncovered multiple instances of Medicaid fraud.
One particularly troubling case involved funds meant to provide care for autistic children being diverted for personal gain.
Federal prosecutors charged 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan in September with defrauding an autism services program.
According to court documents, Hassan obtained nearly $500,000 as part of a $14 million fraud scheme.
The case centered on the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program, known as EIDBI.
This publicly funded Minnesota healthcare initiative provides medically necessary services to individuals under 21 with autism spectrum disorder.
According to the Department of Justice, Hassan and co-conspirators operated their fraud from November 2019 through December 2024.
Hassan established Smart Therapy LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State, listing herself as sole owner.
Federal documents revealed that other individuals held ownership stakes in Smart Therapy but were deliberately excluded from official paperwork.
One undisclosed owner had previously operated an adult daycare facility and faced a three-year exclusion from the Department of Human Services due to misconduct.
After incorporating the company, Hassan enrolled Smart Therapy as an EIDBI program provider.
The organization also gained enrollment in the Federal Child Nutrition Program through Feeding Our Future sponsorship.
Smart Therapy claimed to deliver essential one-on-one Applied Behavior Analysis therapy to autistic children.
Federal investigators determined the company actually employed unqualified staff members as behavioral technicians.
