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President Donald Trump has recently announced a flurry of new actions to crack down and investigate fraud schemes in Minnesota, which he has assailed as a “hub of money laundering activity,” and cited as the basis of his decision to terminate deportation protections for hundreds of Somali migrants.
Senior Trump administration officials announced fresh investigations this week, including a new Treasury Department probe into how taxpayer dollars were allegedly diverted to the terrorist organization al-Shabaab, according to Secretary Scott Bessent.
Meanwhile, city officials in Minneapolis are bracing for an influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after the agency announced plans for a new operation in the state.
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And Trump last month cited the fraud as a driver of his decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status designation for thousands of Somali migrants living in Minnesota, saying in a Truth Social post that they should “go back to where they came from.”
Immigration advocates and local community leaders say they fear the actions and rhetoric could chill or stigmatize Somali residents who are living in the country legally.
At the heart of the issue is the sprawling, $250 million “Feeding Our Future” fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded children’s nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump and other officials have zeroed in on this and other alleged fraud schemes in recent weeks, arguing that the criminal activity is a result of mismanagement and “incompetence” from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat and former vice presidential candidate.
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“It’s not surprising that the president has chosen to broadly target an entire community,” Walz said of Trump’s efforts, adding, “This is what he does to change the subject.”
The back-and-forth comes as Minnesota has come under fresh scrutiny for alleged mismanagement of the federal funds, including in distributing money for the “Feeding Our Future” program, which authorities believe to be the largest fraud scheme in the history of the pandemic.
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The scheme exploited the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive many of its standard requirements for the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the pandemic, including relaxing its requirement for non-school-based distributors to participate in the program.
Conspirators falsely claimed to have served millions of meals during the pandemic, but instead used the money for personal gain. They also are accused of fabricating invoices, submitting fake attendance records and falsely distributing thousands of meals from hundreds of so-called food distribution “sites” across the state.
Fox News Digital first reported on the status of the fraud in July. FBI Director Kash Patel described it at the time as “one of the worst” in Minnesota history — and as of November 2025, more than 75 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Some of the individuals are part of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora, which is the largest in the U.S., though the ringleader of the scheme is not.
“Stealing from the federal government equates to stealing from the American people — there is no simpler truth,” FBI’s special agent in charge, Alvin Winston, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Charging documents show that roughly 300 “food sites” in the state served little or no food, with the so-called “food vendors” and organizations fabricated to launder money intended to reimburse the cost of feeding children.
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FBI officials told Fox News that the investigation and resulting trials and indictments continue to impact the state, and have already touched off legislative reform in Minnesota.
They added that the investigation into the fraud remains ongoing, and that additional charges are expected, though they did not immediately share more details.
“The egregious fraud unveiled in the Feeding our Future case epitomizes a profound betrayal of public trust,” Patel told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
“These individuals misappropriated hundreds of millions in federal funds intended to nourish vulnerable children during a time of crisis, redirecting those resources into luxury homes, high-end vehicles and extravagant lifestyles while families faced hardship,” he added.
In recent days, the inflammatory rhetoric has continued. Trump suggested earlier this week that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who fled Somalia a a child, “shouldn’t be allowed to be a congresswoman,” prompting fierce backlash from some Democrats and from Minnesota’s congressional delegation.
Omar, for her part, said Trump’s remarks were “vile.”
“His obsession with me is creepy,” she said on social media. “I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”
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