U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced initiatives he said will strengthen and safeguard the financial system in Minnesota and prevent benefit fraud in that state.
Bessent comes after President Donald Trump highlighted a years old case in Minnesota where funding for childcare services was diverted to a fraud ring that may have made off with as much as $9 billion in taxpayer funds. Since 2022, prosecutors have charge more than 90 people with exploiting COVID-era programs. Sixty-two of those charged have been convicted.
“President Trump has instructed the administration to bring accountability for the hardworking people of Minnesota,” Bessent said. “Billions of dollars intended for feeding hungry children, housing disabled seniors, and providing services for children in need were diverted to benefit Somali fraud rings.”
Bessent was in Minneapolis-St. Paul to meet with financial institutions, fraud victims and state leaders recently and held roundtable discussions to hear from community members, as well as chair a public-private partnership meeting with financial institutions and Federal, state and local law enforcement to share information to identify, report and investigate government benefits fraud.
Bessent’s actions include four notices to investigate money services business in Minnesota by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an IRS civil enforcement auditing financial institutions that facilitated money laundering and support criminal and civil enforcement efforts, and a geographic targeting order to banks and money transmitters in Hennepin and Ramsey counties to report additional information about funds transferred outside of the U.S.
FinCEN also issued an alert to financial institutions to help disrupt fraud rings exploiting child nutrition programs and has provided on-the-ground training to law enforcement on using financial data to combat fraud schemes.