The Department of Labor is sending a strike team to investigate fraud in Minnesota
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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced in a new interview that a “strike team” is being sent to Minnesota to investigate reports of widespread fraud among several state benefits programs.
During an appearance on the “Ruthless Podcast” on Tuesday, Chavez-DeRemer told the show’s hosts that the US Department of Labor will send “our unemployment insurance strike team” to find out where government fraud is taking place.
“Today we sent a letter to the government saying we’re going to send one of our unemployment insurance strike teams to find out where more fraud is going on, because the American people don’t deserve this,” he told Ruthless. “It’s the American people who believe that their dollars are going for one specific reason and that’s to keep that trust fund intact and use the dollars where they’re needed and not where they’re being used.”
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Lori Chavez-DeRemer, US Secretary of Labor, during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies in Washington, DC, US, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg)
The Labor secretary asserted that President Donald Trump has made it clear that “fraud has no place in any government,” from local governments to the federal government.
“But at the federal level, organized crime is happening, and we have the power to enforce that, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do,” added Chavez-DeRemer.
On Monday, the US Department of Labor announced it would launch a “targeted review” of several Minnesota benefits programs following “recent findings of widespread fraud” in the state.
The state agency sent a letter to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development saying “concerns about recent reports of fraud, waste and abuse may threaten the integrity” of the state’s unemployment insurance program.
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The letter stated that the agency’s proposed review will be aimed at “suspect acquisitions” found within several Minnesota benefit programs, including the Minnesota Federal Child Nutrition Program, the Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Autism Program and the Housing Stability Services program.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested an illegal immigrant from Somalia, Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, who was convicted of fraud and has ties to several high-profile Minnesota politicians, including former Democratic vice president Gov. Tim Walz. (ICE)
In a statement accompanying the agency’s announcement, Chavez-DeRemer announced that under his leadership, the Department of Labor will not allow “evildoers” to undermine the integrity of government benefits programs.
“I am shocked by what we are hearing about possible fraud from many benefits programs in Minnesota. If there is any related abuse of our UI programs, it will not be tolerated, and I hope our special strike team will be able to get to the bottom of this and report their findings directly to me,” he said. “Our mission to protect American workers remains the same, and I will not allow malicious actors to undermine the integrity of this trusted program.”
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Minnesota has come under increased scrutiny after Trump called Minnesota a “hotbed of money laundering,” due to several fraudulent schemes targeting the state’s Medicaid program, and other federally funded child support programs. More than 80 people have already faced charges against the government in connection with these programs.
President Donald Trump speaks during breakfast with Senate and House Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Included in this series of alleged fraud schemes is from a new program known as the Housing Stability Services Program, which provides Medicaid coverage through housing stabilization services in an effort to help those with disabilities, mental illness, and substance use disorders find housing.
I Department of Justice so far he has charged less than a dozen people with allegedly defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program, but more charges are expected.
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Additionally, the Trump administration and lawmakers have launched an investigation into Minnesota’s $250 million “Feeding Our Future” fraud program that allegedly targeted the Department of Agriculture-funded child nutrition program that Minnesota ran during the COVID-19 crisis. At least 77 people have been charged in the scheme, which took advantage of the US Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain requirements of the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
Diana Stancy of Fox News contributed to this report.
