Minnesota Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins is sounding the alarm after discovering that individuals connected to the state’s largest fraud scandal — including a defendant awaiting trial — are still receiving millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through other government programs.
Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of individuals with stealing more than $300 million from the federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future. One defendant in the case continues to receive millions in public funds through the state’s assisted living program, according to Robbins, who chairs the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee.
“Why this hasn’t caught their attention and why they’re allowing taxpayer money to still go to this guy is unbelievable,” Robbins, who unveiled her findings at a Wednesday committee hearing, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If someone’s having a problem in one of their businesses, maybe you go look at all the other associated businesses with that person. It’s a basic internal control.”
Despite no longer receiving reimbursements through Feeding Our Future, properties owned or purchased by the defendant — facing trial next April — and his wife remained enrolled with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to provide customized living services as recently as October, according to Robbins.
Committee researchers found that one facility owned by the defendant received approximately $2.3 million through the assisted living program in Fiscal Year 2025. Robbins said the defendant’s wife recently purchased a fourth home that will be added to the facility and obtained a state license for it in September.
Another home owned by the defendant received $132,000 already in FY 2026, Robbins said. One of the properties tied to that facility was purchased through the same LLC that was indicted for money laundering, but was granted a new operating license earlier this year.
The individual has received more than $49 million from various state programs between 2019 and 2024, she said.
Beyond the individual charged in the Feeding Our Future scam, Robbins said other individuals continue receiving state payments through assisted living programs despite having reimbursements cut off in separate programs for billing services that were not provided.
In one example, Robbins said a real estate agent involved in purchasing assisted living facilities also owned a business in the Integrated Community Supports (ICS) program. After legislative hearings revealed improper billing, payments to the ICS business were halted. However, Robbins said the individual continues receiving payments through assisted living programs.
The state representative said she will be turning her findings over to the U.S. Attorney on Thursday for further investigation.
DHS suspends payments to providers when there are “credible allegations of fraud,” DHS Inspector General James Clark said in a statement to the DCNF, adding that anybody who suspects fraud should contact him.
“For every single Feeding Our Future defendant who has been indicted, we analyze data to see if they have ties to DHS billing. This work has been ongoing since the Feeding Our Future-related indictments began and has continued since I’ve been at DHS,” Clark said. “We are not allowing criminally indicted defendants who have already defrauded Minnesota taxpayers to continue to defraud us.”
Robbins said these cases represent only a small sample of how fraud can persist due to insufficient cross-checking between state programs. Committee research uncovered what she described as a “web” of individuals with overlapping business relationships and ownership interests.
Robbins noted that payments for customized living services in assisted living facilities grew by 45.9% in 2020, far outpacing growth in average monthly payments across other waiver programs.
DHS announced Tuesday a two-year moratorium on new adult day service licenses amid an investigation into a separate kickback scheme. The agency also reported a 43% increase in capacity over the past decade, while the number of recipients grew by just 7%.
No such moratorium has been announced for the assisted living program.
Robbins called for cross-checking all Feeding Our Future defendants across state programs and greater scrutiny of providers already flagged for misconduct.
The allegations are the latest in a wave of fraud that has engulfed the state in recent years. In addition to the Feeding Our Future scheme, federal prosecutors allege that taxpayer dollars were looted from the state’s Housing Stabilization Services and autism treatment programs, pushing potential losses past $1 billion.
“Minnesotans work hard for their money, and they are furious that their money has been used to buy a resort in Kenya, an apartment in Nairobi, land in Turkey, culinary school in Ohio, mansions in Minneapolis, and luxury cars,” Robbins said. “People are completely fed up.”
Robbins, who is running in a crowded Republican primary for governor, placed blame squarely on Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“This continues to happen in program after program, and [Walz] has not fired anyone at the agents,” she said. “He’s the executive, he’s in charge of these agencies, and he continues to turn a blind eye and not take any action.”
Walz’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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