Vance refers Walz, Ellison to DOJ in expanding Minnesota fraud probe
Vice President JD Vance is referring Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice after House investigators alleged state officials failed to act on fraud occurring within Minnesota social services programs.
In his role leading the White House anti-fraud task force, Vance said Monday that he was sending the findings of the House Oversight Committee investigation to the Justice Department for review.
The move follows a new House Oversight Committee report that alleges Walz and Ellison were aware of ongoing fraud but failed to intervene.
In a letter accompanying the report, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer urged the administrations to “conduct a thorough review of all of Minnesota’s social services program integrity measures, oversight processes, reimbursements, and enrollment from 2019 to the present.”
After receiving the report, Vance announced he was referring the committee’s findings to the Justice Department.
“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,” Vance wrote in a post on X.
Vance said the allegations were being referred to the Justice Department’s fraud division, led by Attorney General Colin McDonald.
Pressure builds on Walz
The referral marks the latest escalation in the growing dispute between the Trump administration and Walz over Minnesota’s handling of fraud allegations.
Walz, who has denied allegations, dropped his bid for a third term as a result of the investigation, saying it had become a distraction. He has since been vocal about the fraud investigation and next steps.
In April, the FBI and other federal and local law enforcement agencies executed at least 22 federal search warrants tied to the investigation. Walz shared the news on X, taking credit for the raids, saying they happened because his state officials reported unusual activity.
Investigations expands
Public attention around the case intensified late last year after a conservative YouTube creator alleged that Somali-run day care centers were receiving government funds while caring for few or no children.
The underlying investigation began years earlier, in 2021, but gained national attention after the video went viral.
Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable
We ALL… pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a
— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025
Federal investigators, the House Oversight Committee and the Treasury Department have also examined the house of the hawala money-transfer system, an informal network that can make cross-border and domestic transfers outside of traditional banking systems.
As Straight Arrow previously reported, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has alleged that some Somali immigrants in the United States may have used the system to help finance al-Shabab.
To date, investigators have not announced findings connecting Minnesota’s fraud investigations to financing the terrorist group.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
