Former DHS Official Accuses Minnesota Officials of Suppressing Childcare Fraud Investigations
Jeremy Christenson, a former Homeland Security Investigations official, stated on Thursday that Minnesota officials suppressed investigations into alleged day care fraud tied to federally funded programs, arguing that political pressure and accusations of racism derailed cases even after investigators raised repeated alarms.
On the program, Christenson described how state leaders worked to shut down inquiries into social service fraud involving day care centers despite mounting evidence and internal warnings from investigators.
Christenson made the comments in response to questions about fraud investigations linked to day care operations and the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
“It happens because the people at the top in the state of Minnesota just simply did not want this to be known,” Christenson said. “They simply swept it under the rug.”
“That’s the only way it can be explained,” he added. “They did not want this to come out.”
“So, the people who were making these cases were chastised, demoted, reassigned, and belittled for the most part, and just told not to work on it anymore. It just went away.”
When asked about specific communities involved in the cases, Christenson noted: “They’re the A team when it comes to it. There’s an A-team, a B-team, and a C-team.”
“The Somali community is definitely the A-team,” he said. “And yeah, they can write the book on how to commit social service fraud within the United States. I think it’s probably a prerequisite learning before you enter the U.S. for them.”
He also described how allegations of racism were used to blunt investigations, particularly after state officials initially moved to cut off funding.
“Originally, I believe the governor did cut off funding when the investigation for feeding starving children came out,” Christenson said. “But as soon as the racism charges started coming out and all the bigotry charges came out, they opened the tap again.”
“And they just didn’t want to be labeled a racist,” he added. “They opened the tap and let it run freely.”
The comments come amid ongoing scrutiny of day care centers in Minneapolis following fraud prosecutions tied to Feeding Our Future, which federal authorities have described as one of the largest pandemic-era fraud schemes in the country.
Separately, a Somali-run day care center in Minneapolis reported a break-in this week amid heightened fear of investigations. Nasrulah Mohamed, manager of Nokomis Day Care Center, told reporters that the business was broken into overnight Wednesday with “important documentation,” including records related to employees and children, reportedly missing.
