Free Republic

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...

A juror was dismissed Monday after reporting that a woman dropped a bag of $120,000 in cash at her home and offered her more money if she would vote to acquit seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic. These seven are the first of 70 defendants expected to go to trial in a conspiracy that cost taxpayers $250 million. Eighteen others have pleaded guilty, and authorities said they recovered about $50 million in one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. Prosecutors say just a fraction of the...

A non-profit organization called “Feeding our Future (FOF)” was stopped in its tracks this week by the FBI after using millions of federal dollars meant for child nutrition to instead buy “numerous vehicles” and 14 properties, according to the Bureau. FBI Special Agent Travis Wilmer wrote in an affidavit this week: “The companies and their owners received tens of millions of dollars in federal funds for use in providing nutritious meals to underprivileged children and adults. Almost none of this money was used to feed children. Instead, the participants in the scheme misappropriated the money and used it to purchase...