Posted on 09/26/2022 12:40:49 PM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
Minnesota’s Senate majority leader on Monday called for Education Commissioner Heather Mueller to resign for what he described as “dishonest” statements she made about her agency’s efforts to prevent an estimated $250 million in pandemic fraud.
Minnesota’s political world was turned upside down Tuesday when U.S. Attorney Andy Luger announced charges against 48 Minnesotans for allegedly defrauding the federal government’s child nutrition programs of $250 million in a little over 20 months.
“These 48 defendants engaged in a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” Luger said during a press conference, describing the $250 million total as just the “floor” because the federal investigation continues.
At the center of the case is Aimee Bock and her nonprofit, Feeding Our Future, which functioned as a sponsor organization for hundreds of subsidiaries, called “meal sites,” across the state.
In total, Feeding Our Future opened more than 250 sites throughout the state of Minnesota and fraudulently obtained and disbursed more than $240 million in federal child nutrition program funds, according to Luger’s office.
In Minnesota, these federal funds are overseen and disbursed by the Minnesota Department of Education, which has repeatedly claimed that it was ordered by a judge to continue paying Feeding Our Future and its associates.
Commissioner Mueller said as much during an April hearing before the Senate Education Committee, according to Sahan Journal.
Gov. Tim Walz repeated these claims during a press conference Thursday, even suggesting that the judge who ordered the payments to continue should be investigated.
But then that judge, John Guthmann, issued a statement Friday saying he “never ordered the Department of Education to resume payments to [Feeding Our Future] in April 2021, or at any other time.”
The statement, issued by the Minnesota Judicial Branch on Guthmann’s behalf, continued:
“On February 26, 2022, the Star Tribune reported on a federal investigation of FOF. The article included the following false statement: ‘In April 2021, Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann told the department it didn’t have the authority to stop payments and ordered the department to resume payments.’ Since February, that Star Tribune quote has been repeated or paraphrased on many occasions by many other media outlets. The same media sources reported that, in her April 4, 2022, testimony to the Minnesota Senate, the Commissioner of the Education stated that the MN Department of Education tried to stop payments to FOF, only to be ordered by Judge Guthmann to resume payments. That is false. Then, when federal indictments were announced this week, many new reports were published. On September 22, 2022, Governor Tim Walz told the media that the Minnesota Department of Education attempted to end payments to FOF because of possible fraud, but that Judge Guthmann ordered payments to continue in April 2021. That is also false.”
Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, called for Mueller’s resignation in response.
“When it comes to fraud, waste, and abuse, there is no political or partisan take. As Minnesotans, we expect accountability for public officials who fail to protect the taxpayers’ dollars. After reading Judge Guthmann’s statement, if it is true MDE was under no obligation to continue to pay Feeding Our Future, and Commissioner Mueller was dishonest before a Senate Committee about the Judge’s actions, I have no choice but to call for the Commissioner to resign,” Miller said.
“Based on Judge Guthmann’s statement, Governor Walz and Commissioner Mueller have been dishonest with the public about the legal proceedings and failed to protect taxpayer dollars from the biggest instance of COVID-related fraud in the country. That’s not the kind of leadership the citizens of Minnesota expect of their government. The Senate will continue to hold state government accountable to its people,” he added.
The Walz administration responded to the judicial branch statement in a statement of its own later Friday.
“Feeding Our Future demanded that MDE make payments, and the court made it clear that if MDE were to continue the legal fight to withhold payments, MDE would incur sanctions and legal penalties,” the statement said. “The court held MDE in contempt for not processing Feeding Our Future applications.”
Somalians...protected class.
Either the Squad was lapping money from this - or the Squad WASN’T getting their protection money, and so the feds were called in.
Either way, you can bet Ilhan and her crew were involved.
Aimee, what cha gonna do
Stealin millions, the fed caught up with you,
You’re going away for a while, maybe longer, you’re so scruuuued.
Nice!
“Somalians...protected class.”
They were brought in by Obama.
Before Obama
Money + Somalis = Fraud.
How do you not notice the fraud? State and federal politicians must be behind this.
$250 million for this feeding the children with more money stolen to be revealed and $100 million a YEAR amount for day care fraud.
The Rep. Ilhan Omar who hates America has to be involved.
Millions of dollars in suitcases fly out of MSP, but why?
Published May 14, 2018 News FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul <- you can bet nothing has changed since!!
https://www.fox9.com/news/millions-of-dollars-in-suitcases-fly-out-of-msp-but-why
On the morning of March 15, Fox 9 chased a tip about a man who was leaving the country. Sources said he took a carry-on bag through security that was packed with $1 million in cash. Travelers can do that, as long as they fill out the proper government forms.
Fox 9 learned that these cloak-and-dagger scenarios now happen almost weekly at MSP. The money is usually headed to the Middle East, Dubai and points beyond. Sources said last year alone, more than $100 million in cash left MSP in carry-on luggage.
In 2015, investigators documented $14 million in carry on cash. By 2016, it had mushroomed to $84 million. Then last year, $100 million.
The Walz camp is now claiming that they were prohibited from blowing the whistle on this scam by the FBI because they were in the middle of an active investigation.
Bravo Sierra.
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