Minnesota creates fraud ‘fact check’ amid national political scrutiny

Incendiary claims about fraud in Minnesota are being aired in congressional hearings, influencer videos and by the White House.

Now the state Department of Human Services is going on the offensive, pushing back against some of the assertions with a newly published “fact check” page.

“Truth before rhetoric ... The place for Minnesotans to find accurate information about our fight against fraud,” the webpage states. It provides short responses to dozens of statements it identifies as “claims” or “facts.”

For months, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and state human services officials have been condemning some of Republicans’ talking points around the social services fraud scandal, which federal prosecutors have said spans at least 14 Medicaid programs and could amount to billions of lost taxpayer dollars.

The fact check page debuted the day after two GOP-led congressional hearings focused on fraud in Minnesota and shortly before the state legislative session kicks off.

Fraud is poised to be a major focus for politicians in the months ahead, both at lawmaker hearings and on the campaign trail. The governor’s job, as well as congressional and state seats, are on the 2026 ballot.

The webpage launch also comes after federal officials have threatened to withhold $2 billion in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud. And the Trump administration has cited fraud claims as justification for the surge of thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol agents into the state.

“In Minnesota, they think it’s $19 billion. If they think it’s $19 billion, triple it or quadruple it,” Trump said.

The Department of Human Services says that’s “not a real number, it’s a political one.”

“These escalating figures are rhetorical exaggerations, not findings of fraud. No federal or state agency has produced evidence, data sets, or provider-level documentation to support numbers anywhere close to that magnitude,” the webpage states.

The fact check is the latest addition to a “program integrity” webpage, which human services officials are using to highlight what they are doing to combat fraud. That broader webpage includes some investigation and case data, a timeline of key agency actions dating back to 2024 and other details.

“Speculation, intentional misinformation and amateur investigations will not stop fraud in our state,” Temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said in a statement included in the state’s Feb. 11 announcement of its fact check page.

“While we continue to tighten oversight, we’re also making sure people have a place to go for facts when they hear claims that are intended to justify the defunding of social services programs,” Gandhi added.

This week the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing called “Somali Fraud in Minnesota — The Tip of the Iceberg.” During that hearing, Republican Sen. John Cornyn said his home state of Texas “doesn’t have the problems” Minnesota does.

Meanwhile, another U.S. Senate hearing held the same day focused on “Examining Fraud and Foreign Influence in State and Federal Programs.”

State Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify at that hearing. He similarly said misconduct in Minnesota is far more severe than in other states, and slammed Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison for overseeing “the largest expansion and fastest acceleration of fraud this country has ever seen.”

The state webpage tries to counter that messaging, asserting fraud here is not unique. Fraud is a nationwide challenge, the state fact check site says, adding that “higher visibility does not equal higher fraud. Targeted misinformation thrust Minnesota into the spotlight.”

The state webpage also responds to recent social media videos about fraud in Minnesota, including one from conservative influencer Nick Shirley, in which he claimed to discover nonemergency medical transportation companies committing fraud.

After that video debuted, Minnesota Star Tribune reporters reviewed state data on Medicaid payments to transportation providers and found those in Shirley’s video did not appear to receive money.

The fact check page notes the same finding.

“A review of records going back seven years shows businesses they visited received no Medicaid transportation payments from MN DHS,” the webpage states. “Several were not even enrolled as a provider with the state, something that is required in order to bill for services.”