Minnesota Somali community grapples with fraud cases while pushing back against stereotypes

Abdi Samatar left Somalia and arrived in the United States 34 years ago with nothing.

Now he’s a professor at the University of Minnesota, where he has watched with dismay as headlines pile up about Somali people charged with defrauding state government programs meant to feed hungry children, house the homeless and help people with disabilities.

He’s angry that people are stereotyping Somalis as criminals, but also wants perpetrators to be held accountable.

“This is big criminal stuff in my opinion, as a citizen, not as an academic, not as a Somali, but as a citizen,” Samatar said. “Whether they are Somali or Finnish or Hmong, it doesn’t really matter — the law should take good care of those people."

Minnesota’s Somali community — the largest in the U.S. — finds itself under scrutiny in the wake of criminal investigations that have revealed the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from state-run programs. Most of the dozens of people charged, convicted and sentenced in those schemes are of East African descent.

That scrutiny intensified last week after Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist known for pushing to end “wokeness” on college campuses, alleged in an unsubstantiated City Journal report that money stolen from Minnesota programs has gone to al-Shabab, a terrorist group that controls parts of Somalia. The story cited a retired detective from Seattle who has made similar claims that were debunked in the past.

In response to Rufo’s story, President Donald Trump vowed Friday to revoke temporary asylum protections for Somali refugees fleeing war and natural disasters. In a social media post, Trump threatened to send Somalis “back to where they came from,” alleging Minnesota is “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.” Such a move could affect hundreds of Somalis in Minnesota.

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Minnesota Somalis are the victims of a campaign to demonize them.

He said law enforcement has traced stolen government funds to things like luxury cars, homes, vacations and even property in Kenya, but never to terrorist groups.

Hussein was one of several Somali community leaders, elected officials and citizens to speak out against Trump’s comments. Since Friday, they’ve held news conferences, rallies and even a potluck to condemn his actions.

Minnesota’s top Somali American elected officials appeared at a State Capitol rally on Monday and vowed to defend the rights of the Somali community.

“We’re not going to allow anybody to erase our presence and our contribution, and we are not going to allow anyone to scapegoat us,” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said.

Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, credited the state Senate for passing a bill last session to create an independent office of inspector general to provide more oversight of state programs.

“Somali legislators have helped get that done,” she said. The bill failed in the House.

As Gov. Tim Walz gears up for a run for a third term, he has taken a more aggressive approach to fraud in recent months, shutting down a scrutinized housing program and directing the Department of Human Services to close programs it deems too susceptible to fraud. Walz dismissed Trump’s missive as an attempt to distract from his own problems.

Rep. Mohamud Noor, a Somali American Democrat who represents Minneapolis, said he thinks the focus on fraud prevention will lead to additional safeguards.

“We want people to trust that the system is working as it is designed to work. We want to kick the bad actors out,” Noor said.

“It hurts us as a business,” said Kassim Busuri, a former member of the St. Paul City Council who owns a child care center in Shakopee and an adult day care in St. Paul. “We follow the rules and regulations that are set by the state.”

Busuri said fraudsters need to be stopped and punished, but most of Minnesota’s 80,000-strong Somali community have gone from refugees to thriving business people through hard, honest work.

He said more than 50 people work for his businesses, paying taxes and supporting the broader community.

Busuri said those blaming all Somalis for the fraud need to look harder at the people who allowed the problem to fester and grow: state officials.

“The system is broken; that’s not our fault,” he said. “There are always going to be people who commit fraud. It’s up to the government to make sure people aren’t taking advantage of the system.”

This isn’t the first time Somali Minnesotans have been accused of funding terrorism.

The City Journal’s reporting was based on comments by retired Seattle detective Glenn Kerns as a source. In 2018, Kerns made similar assertions in a Fox 9 story about Somalis sending suitcases of cash back home, only to have some end up in the hands of al-Shabab. That report was largely debunked by a state audit, which found no evidence of a connection between the state’s child care program and al-Shabab or other terrorists.

Samatar, the U professor, said fraud has left a stain on the community but noted, “A lot of poor Somalis who are struggling have been swindled in this process.”

Those who have abused the system have “soiled the water for everybody,” he said, by “abusing the community’s name for their individual gain.”

Samatar wishes the Somali community had mobilized against fraud, but said criminality isn’t specific to certain races or religions.