For the last few years, I’ve been hearing rumors and shadows of rumors about benefits fraud in Minnesota. I was vaguely aware of the “meals for kids” scandal by simple information osmosis. But the story has really exploded and come to the forefront in the last few weeks and I noticed that the person who most consistently surfaces information that was closer to the source was Ann Bauer.
Ann and I have been wandering around the Twitter / X infosphere for several years (since Covid). I understood from her recent writing that she felt she had to leave Minnesota, partly over the frightening reactions she’s seen in response to her efforts to make the extent of this scandal public. Such a move, while sometimes necessary, is always a tragedy and I wanted to talk to her and capture her story in this.
If you’re not familiar with the details of this story, the long story as short as possible is that there is a widespread pattern of benefits fraud in Minnesota. There are been several distinct strategies employed by a group of Somali fraudsters that have been systematically leeching benefits funds from the state and federal government. We’re not quite sure exactly the full scope but it is almost certainly more than a billion dollars.
I wanted to talk to Ann because she has been investigating this problem for years. Her discovery of this problem came about in her actions during Covid where she was desperately trying to reach outside her own sphere of safety to help others. I admire that impulse enormously and I’m delighted that she was willing to talk with me about it.
The picture Ann paints for us is a very bleak one. It is a story of rampant and unchecked fraud, most of which is still uncovered. It is a story of theft being winked at by public officials and ignored by the voting public. By the end of the podcast, I’m basically begging for good news.
And there is some good news, mostly in the stories of the good people Ann has come to know who are fighting for justice and are repulsed by the cynicism and corruption of their state and local politicians.
Walter Hudson is a Minnesota State Representative who has been fighting against this fraud from within the Minnesota state government. Bill Glahn works with American Experiment and has been writing about this problem for many months. Joe Thompson is a federal prosecutor who has been chasing after justice in these cases.
Ann also wanted to make note that, while most of the fraudsters are Somali, she has spoken with many wonderful people in the Somali communities who are frustrated and distressed by the rampant corruption and fraud they see all around them. It has been distressing to them to see those in their community who are corrupt, amoral, and unjust become tightly connected with sources of power and raised up and praised as the pillars of their community.
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan. - Proverbs 29:2
The podcast in full is free to everyone. I have some additional thoughts, details, and commentary below the paywall.
