Governor Tim Walz on Friday announced a new statewide fraud prevention program aimed at tightening oversight after the Feeding Our Future scandal, which investigators say diverted about $250 million in pandemic-era funds intended to feed children.
Walz appointed Tim O’Malley as director of program integrity. O’Malley, a former FBI agent who later led the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension after being appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, has also served as chief judge of the state’s Court of Administrative Hearings (an appointment from Walz) and worked on integrity matters with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Walz said O’Malley “will work across state government to strengthen fraud protection and protect taxpayer dollars,” and emphasized that O’Malley answered to Minnesotans rather than to the governor. O’Malley said Walz privately assured him he would have “the freedom and autonomy to act to do whatever is necessary to solve this.” “I’m not here to serve any individual, and I’m not here to serve a political party. I’m here to serve Minnesotans,” O’Malley added.
The program was developed with help from an outside forensics firm, WayPoint, led by forensic accountant and attorney Josiah Lamb. Lamb said WayPoint worked with the BCA to build an “anti-fraud toolkit” of policies and procedures to address enterprise-wide risks. Walz said the state’s contract with WayPoint is worth up to $200,000 and will be used across agencies.
Walz acknowledged responsibility for oversight failures that allowed the Feeding Our Future fraud, saying Minnesota’s generosity was exploited and that his office should have done more to keep the public informed. He said federal pandemic guidance that prioritized fast delivery of funds relaxed guardrails and opened opportunities for abuse. Walz also said he tried in 2021 to freeze payments to an organization tied to Feeding Our Future but was blocked by the courts, recounting that he told officials not to pay and was told he lacked the authority; the organization sued, won, was paid, and was later charged.
Republicans seized on the scandal. GOP gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Kristin Robbins said the fraud prevention effort “should be his resignation,” while state Sen. Jordan Rasmusson criticized creating a statewide director of program integrity as unnecessary if agency commissioners were doing their jobs. Walz pushed back, defending broader pandemic policies and saying he “will not apologize for making Minnesota one of the safest states during COVID,” despite legal challenges to measures such as mask mandates.
Federal prosecutors have tied the Feeding Our Future prosecutions to wider fraud in Minnesota. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said fraud connected to programs including Housing Stabilization Services and autism services has “stolen billions of dollars” in taxpayer money. In response, Walz announced new audits of up to 14 social programs considered high-risk. The state Department of Human Services inspector general is reviewing more than 1,300 reported cases and has recovered roughly $50 million so far.
The case has also intensified racial and immigration tensions. Dozens of defendants in the Feeding Our Future indictments are of Somali descent, though prosecutors say the alleged mastermind, Aimee Bock, is White. More than 61 people have been convicted so far, with additional charges pending. President Trump has called Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and suggested ties to the Somali community; federal officials have examined whether stolen funds were moved to Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabaab. The Department of Homeland Security deployed agents to the Twin Cities as part of “Operation Metro Surge,” and the Trump administration has said it will reexamine some green-card holders from Somalia and other countries.
Court exhibits released in the prosecutions describe how fraud proceeds were spent on luxury travel, over-water villas in the Maldives, gold jewelry purchased in Dubai, first-class airline tickets, high-end cars, lakefront properties and overseas transfers. U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen called the scale of the fraud “massive,” saying defendants were primarily motivated by self-enrichment and self-indulgence. There is also evidence of wire transfers to destinations including China.
Walz said the new program and O’Malley’s appointment are steps to rebuild safeguards and public trust. The investigations, prosecutions and state audits are ongoing.
This report was contributed to by Ubah Ali, Jason Rantala, Joe Walsh and Conor Wight.