How Much Was Stolen? Inside Minnesota’s Massive Fraud Probe, Annunciation Christmas Concert Honors Harper and Fletcher

Yeah, I might want to download that Exxon Mobile Rewards Plus app. Yeah. Are you the Exxon Tiger? I am. Yeah, you know, new users can earn $10 and points, five bucks after your first purchase and five after your second. That's a lot. That's a whole lot. It is. Well, hey, you get on that download, buddy. I will. Loading. Download the Exxon Mobile Rewards Plus app and join today. Exxon. Trust the Tiger. For details, visit Exxonoffer.com. So good, so good, so good. New markdowns, up to 70% off are at Nordstrom rack stores now. Stock up and stay big on shoes, tops, dresses, accessories, and more must-haves for summer. Join the Nordi Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. You're listening to Four Things to Know, a WCCO Daily News podcast. Today is Friday, December 19th. I'm Maria Lizignoli. Thanks for listening to Four Things to Know. Our top story today. Eye-popping numbers and explosive new indictments in Minnesota's fraud crisis. A staggering industrial scale fraud. That was first assistant U.S. attorney Joe Thompson. He says investigators flagged 14 social services programs for a closer look. They say those 14 programs have charged taxpayers $18 billion since 2018. The question we're asking, Thompson, how much of that money was stolen? Here's his response. To not the million dollar question, that's the $18 billion question. The answer is far too much. When I say a significant amount, I'm talking on the order of half or more. Investigators described two of the people indicted yesterday as fraud tourists. According to prosecutors, two men from Philadelphia were tipped off by a friend that Minnesota could be an easy target. They allegedly set up two companies here, even had office space, but never actually provided any services. Came here not to enjoy our lakes. Our beautiful summers are our warm people. They came here because they knew and understood that Minnesota was a place where taxpayer money could be taken with little risk and few consequences. Charges say Anthony Jefferson and Lester Brown flew in from Philadelphia after hearing Minnesota's quote, HHS program was a good opportunity to make money. They're accused of charging $3.5 million for housing help they never provided. Despite taking increasing heat for the fraud crisis, Governor Tim Walz applauded the fraud charges. In a statement, he said, quote, this is exactly the type of strong action we need from prosecutors to ensure fraudsters are put behind bars. The 14 social programs now under federal investigation are currently also under audit by state officials. The new inspector general's office at the state DHS is also conducting its own probe and defraud allegations.

Now, right before those new indictments were announced yesterday, federal agents raided a Bloomington business. The business claimed it was helping vulnerable people live at home, but it wasn't. New court documents reveal that one of the people under the supposed constant care died and no one noticed for days. A woman who lives nearby saw the FBI agents conducting the operation. I saw a whole group of people that... had never been there before. That business, that building is so quiet. Nothing happens there. Thompson says the search warrant was part of a new investigation into another Medicaid program in Minnesota called Integrated Community Supports, or ICS. He says the company called Ultimate Home Health Services, build a lot, but provided very little of that assistance. Number two, a retired Twin Cities police officer was killed while trying to offer help to a stranger. Early Monday morning, police in Elk River say 53-year-old Jay Clayton Connolly was struck and killed while trying to help a driver stuck on an icy road. Connolly had stepped out of his vehicle to help the driver when another car hit the retired officer and the stalled vehicle. Neither of the other drivers was hurt, according to police, but their cars were seriously damaged. Connolly was a retired Brooklyn Park officer who had served for 20 years. According to a GoFundMe page set up by his wife's cousin, Connolly leaves behind a wife, a 17-year-old son, and a 14-year-old daughter. Connolly was described as an unforgettable and hilarious man. As of this recording, the GoFundMe has raised more than $27,000. Number three, today is a big liftoff day for travel at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. During the days around the Thanksgiving holiday, MSP saw nearly half a million people come through the airport, and they estimate this holiday season will be nearly as busy. John Lorton reports from MSP. Travel experts say there's really an 18-day window beginning today and running through that first week of January where things will be very steady here at MSP. Now Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Jeff Lee told us they're expecting about 1.8 million people to come through the airport during that time span, whether it's leaving, connecting, or arriving. Lee says, unlike the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, where the government shutdown led to fewer air traffic controllers and canceled flights, they won't be seeing those problems during Christmas and New Year's. And if the weather complies, this holiday travel season will be busier than last year's. We're going to see pockets of very busy volumes today and certainly the day after Christmas and the Sunday that followed. They're going to be really busy with over 50,000 people coming through the checkpoints. On the roadways, there'll be pockets of congestion and peak periods.

Yeah, Lisa is typically that busy time is in the morning between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. So before you arrive to the airport, make sure you know your flight status online. And of course, when you're coming to the airport arrive plenty of early. Some people say two hours, some say an hour and a half, just give yourself plenty of time to get here before you take off. Number four. This time of year, Christmas concerts are happening at Catholic schools all over the country. But this one carries a much deeper meaning this year. Last night, Amelia Santinello was at the Annunciation Christmas program. She said it was beautiful. She was pretty sure everybody could feel the love in the auditorium. It's a beloved tradition at the school, but this year is anything but typical. Children and parents are dealing with the loss of two of their classmates. Last night, students and staff used music to find healing and hope.

I think this year especially we're very fixated on coming together again and ideally coming together with some hope in our bones as best we can. I am so excited to hear the kids sing because I think when they sing it just completely brings us all that closer. Music teacher Kristen Stang says hope is tricky at times, but they are finding it here at Annunciation Catholic school. This year's Christmas concert plays a big part in fostering that feeling. There's an incredible lyric in what they know is Kermit's Christmas here in the community that says if you believe in love, that will be more than enough. And this year especially, we're needing to believe in love, and we're needing to trust that. Harper Moisky and Fletcher Merkel's classmates were determined to show that love on stage. They were very vocal, especially those Harper and Fletcher's classmates in general, very... adamant that we do something special and it was already forming in my mind but to have the kids involved was pivotal so each of those classes is going to join together this year and they are going to sing a song to honor Harper one of her favorites and one of Fletcher's favorites as well

We have special lights that we keep in the classroom that they have asked we brought on stage. And so we will save a seat for Harper and Fletcher on our stage this year too. quickly became a little ritual in here that when we come into class we light those lights in their honor and they are present with us in this room they are present with us down on the stage and it's just become a way for us to walk in our grieving together but also in our in our healing and holding that space for both of them the Christmas program is especially poignant this year and comes with many delicate layers so I went ahead and connected with both sets of parents and laid everything out for them. Every third and fifth grader met with me one-on-one to give a verbal, yes, my heart is ready, or no, my heart is not. This is how to be brave. How can I love when I'm afraid? This year's concert is so much more than a performance. It's a heartfelt tribute to two families navigating grief during what should be the most wonderful time of the year. I hope they feel surrounded in love and wrapped in it and fully embraced. And that's a love that we have for Harper and Fletcher that doesn't go away. And that kind of love doesn't fade. And so I hope they are able to see that on stage present in Harper and Fletcher's lights. the physical lights and the lights of their classmates and our whole student body. Amelia said the concert was a beautiful blend of contemporary and Christmas songs that were a touching tribute to Harper and Fletcher. Thank you to Annunciation for allowing us to be a part of that special night. Those are the four things to know today. Now let's check in on our forecast. Happy Friday, I'm meteorologist Joseph Dames. Yeah, temperatures today back into the 20s. It's no 40 degree day like we had yesterday or the day before that. We had three days in a row. It was in the 40. It was quite pleasant. But 20s and teens for today, about 9 degrees up north coming out of Grand Rapids. Yes, another chance for some very light snow for today. That's more so going to be this afternoon. And then another shot. late tonight as a cold front swings on by. We're down to about two overnight up in the Bumigi area and seven for Grand Rapids. Down south, those temperatures will be in the mid-20s and a little more quiet. for those southwest locations across the state. Neighborhood highs near home. Yeah, and over 16. White Bear Lake right there in the mid-20s. Again, it will get warmer throughout the course of the day today before we fall off this weekend a little bit with that cold front swinging out through the low temperature trend on Saturday gets back down to the single digits. But then all next week, much warmer with overnight temperatures in the 20s and 30s. And now here's more to know.

A 16-year-old boy is now charged with making online threats against several schools in Dakota County. Five schools were closed on Tuesday after Apple Valley Police were contacted regarding social media posts about threats directed at schools. Yesterday, an Egan teenager was charged with four counts of threats of violence. Charges said the boy initially denied posting the threats and then said, quote, he made the posts because an unknown person forced him to do it. Now, police did not find any weapons while executing a search warrant. The boy is being held at the Juvenile Services Center in Hastings. He's doing court next Tuesday. An update now on an illness outbreak forcing many students to miss school this week. We now have the latest numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health, which show 35 school outbreaks and 558 hospitalizations from respiratory illnesses. That includes the flu, COVID-19, and RSV. The health department says it's not too late to get vaccinated. Braving the snow and cold to honor those without a home. The 41st annual Homeless Memorial happened in Minneapolis last night. It's dedicated to Minnesotans who passed away while experiencing homelessness. This year, that means 219 people. Their names were carried on signs during a March, followed by a church service and a free community meal. Just hours before the memorial, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed a new homeless encampment policy passed by the city council. The ordinance would require the city to provide things like portable bathrooms, hand washing stations, and trash removal if a camp reaches at least 20 people. The measure the city council passed also required the city to give a seven-day notice before closing an encampment, but Mayor Fry vetoed it yesterday. Only on WCCO, he talked about his concerns that it would incentivize encampments. What this ordinance would say is when you violate the law like that, you're actually rewarded because we've got to allow you to set up that encampment and keep it for seven days. And just a few days later, we've got to add porta-potties to the very place. that you weren't supposed to be in the first place. Now, typically, the council would have a chance to override the mayor's veto, but there aren't any meetings between now and when the newly elected council begin next month. Now to some national headlines. The manhunt for the suspect in the Brown University shooting has come to an end, as well as the investigation into the murder of an MIT professor. Police say the same man is responsible for both crimes. The suspect was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility last night. 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Nivas Valente of Portugal is said to be the man responsible. Police say he was a former student at Brown University between 2000 and 2001. The break in the case came from a witness, a user on Reddit known as John.

Right now, the Vikings are playing out the season, trying to build a little momentum. This Sunday, they face one of the worst in the league, the New York Giants. Kickoff is at noon. It's time to take a breath with your daily bright spot. Some frosty fun is coming back to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and we now know the opening date. The 15th season for the Ice Castles is almost here. The first chance you'll have to step into the Winter Wonderland is next Friday, the 26th. Thanks to these low temperatures we've been experiencing, along with the very hard work of ice artisans, this is the earliest opening ever in Minnesota. From ice slides to towers, tunnels, and caverns, there's so much to explore. Plus, there's going to be nightly fire shows and thrilling rides down a multi-lane tubing hill. Okay, fun, I would definitely be into that. Check out icecastles.com to get your tickets today. Happy Friday, everyone. I hope you have a warm and cozy weekend as we kick off the holidays. Thanks for listening to Four Things to Know. I'm Maria Lizignoli, and I'm here with the news you need every weekday afternoon by 3 o'clock. Listen to Four Things to Know, a WCCO Daily News podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. That refresh you've been putting off until the right deal came along? It's here. Wayfair's Black Friday and July sale is happening now so you can finally get the style you've been waiting for for less. Get up to 80% off area rugs and up to 60% off outdoor and bedroom furniture. Shop Wayfair's huge selection of styles and find the piece to fit your style, budget, and space. Plus, free shipping. Black Friday and July ends July 27th. Shop today at Wayfair.com. Every style, every home.