What We're "Learing" About MN Mess
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Transcript
24 segmentsForget whatever plans you have this weekend because you're staying at home and playing on SpinQuest. And there's never been a better time to sign up than right now. New users get $30 coin packs for just $10. All the table games you love with hundreds of slot games and real cash prizes. That's at SpinQuest.com. SpinQuest.com. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpenQuest.com for more details. We welcome on to the program from Fox News Radio, frequent contributor here on Nebraska's Morning News. It's Jeff Manasso, who, like a lot of people, have been looking at this situation in Minnesota. And over the last few days, wondering, Jeff, who is Nick Shirley? What can you tell us about this guy? Well, I'm wondering where you want me to start. I guess you just answer that, or how much time do you have? Right. There's a lot to get to. And Nick Shirley's an independent journalist. who popped into Minneapolis for a day or so and started knocking on doors and looking at, you know, empty day care centers. that he found or inactive daycare centers or other facilities, you know, Somali-run businesses, public service operations, transportation services, health care providers that had received millions and millions of dollars in federal and state aid. They were empty or shut down or closed. And, you know, he went into one building. It was like a storage unit. Like this big kind of barren-looking industrial building with dozens of health care companies. They were all basically like storage lockers. And nobody there. And so, you know, his report was 42 minutes long. I think he had 500 followers at the beginning of the week. He's got over a million now. And his expose has received. over 100 million views. So it's viral and it's prompting a lot of a lot of stuff. First of all, Republicans in the state of Minnesota now calling on Governor Tim Wallace to resign. They say for failing to stop billions of dollars in fraud under his watch, they say that the red flags have been there. They were there year after year. The fraud kept growing. Nothing changed. Hundreds of whistleblowers have also previously come forward within the last couple of months. to say that they've been flagging this fraud within the South Somali community in Minneapolis, in and around Minneapolis. They've informed the state, they informed the governor that nothing was ever done. A lot of them went to the governor in 2024 when he was the vice presidential candidate for the Democrat Party. They also say they've been retaliated against for blowing the whistle on the fraud. But a week and a half ago, we heard from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota, the Northern District. who was looking into making arrests and charging some members of the Somali community saying that over the, of the $18 billion in Medicaid money spent in Minnesota under Tim Walz's watch on health care, autism, housing, education, government programs.
That $9 billion maybe even more is believed to have been stolen in what he says could be the largest theft of taxpayer dollars in U.S. history. So, Jeff, when is Nick Shirley going to go to California? Because California has a hell of a lot more fraud than Minnesota. And the argument is that they are targeting the Somali community. Maybe it really deserves it up there. But is anybody really confused about how much Medicaid fraud is going on across the country? Well, look, we're seeing evidence of that with investigation and arrests in many states, Maine and others, and New York. And so this story has legs, and it's a big deal. I can tell you that the Department of Homeland Security is now on the ground in Minnesota, going door to door, visiting suspected fraud sites. Pam Bondi says she's on it. The Walls administration has released a statement saying that the governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and strengthened oversight, including launching investigations into facilities, much of which happened after the probe, after people started getting arrested. And they say they've been launching investigations in the facilities, one of which has already been closed. They're referring to the Learing Center. That's the Learning Center that was misspelled, but they truly went to. The Learing Center. They say, no, no, no, that was closed. That's why it was empty. Well, reporters went there yesterday. It was full of kids. So what's up? Where'd they find these kids? Right.
Well, it's alleged that they're being bust in. Right. Parents get their check, and then they come pick up the kids. But that's all allegations. I can tell you on the Walls administration contests, there's no evidence of fraud that it was rampant in these cases. But they also say that it's unfair to target one community, referring to the Somalis, Tim Walz's own words, that white men commit just as much fraud. And there's also controversy on accountability. There's a judge in Minnesota currently facing backlash. for overturning the conviction of a Somali man who was found guilty of stealing $7 million in Medicaid fund to fund his lavish lifestyle. Anand County judge named Sarah West. This guy was convicted by a jury, then she overturned it, saying that the conviction relied on substantially, substantially on circumstantial evidence. that the state failed to prove that this guy knowingly participated in fraud. So the jury for a person beside himself saying that the evidence was massive, and it was obvious of this guy's guilt, and that's why we found him guilty based on the evidence. We'll see if the feds can bring accountability, but there's doubt on whether local officials can do that. It's a half-and-half deal. The states pay for half of Medicaid. The feds pay for the other half. Who's responsible for oversight? Is there enough oversight? Could you possibly investigate all of these hundreds and hundreds of daycare centers, whether they are run by Somalis? or run by other folks. And to suggest that, of course, only Somalis are defrauding the government is ridiculous and nonsense. But the answer is the answer a federal law or federal enhanced oversight, Jeff, or is the answer local oversight? How much of an army of investigators can the federal government send all 50 states to monitor Medicaid and Medicare fraud? Yeah, it's top. I mean, Medicaid and Medicare fraud is rapid across the country. And you're right. It's not just one community, but what's unfolding in and around Minneapolis. certainly is centering around one community. And again, much of it which is allegations. But pretty damning stuff in terms of this report, this viral video, this expose that was put on. And again, there's been local reporting on similar stories for years. Never gained any traction. But this story is...
that you referred to from Nick Shirley, it's certainly, it's got its teeth into it, and we'll see what happened. Well, just because you say it's hard, it doesn't mean that there aren't mechanisms available to find out what is going on with this money. If I don't pay my taxes, they're going to find me. You know, all the millions and millions of taxpayers in America, I don't pay my taxes, they're going to find me. $9 billion of federal taxpayer money lost, and 92 people charged 82 or Somalis in Minnesota. They should have a state auditor who's working just as hard as Nebraska's, Ed, to try and track this down. Hey, Jeff, thank you so much for the report. Happy New Year. Thank you very much for the time this morning. Jeff Manasseau, Fox News Radio here on Nebraska's morning news, traffic weather, and a news update. If you miss the Rosie to Genozy yesterday on the subject, you'll find it under the Jim Rose podcast link at kfab.com. What's up, everybody? It's Bretzky, and America is turning 250. And I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than playing on an American-owned social casino, SpinQuest.com. With all of your favorite games, live craps, bubble craps, live blackjack, there's no better place to play for free and win real cash prizes. SpinQuest.com. SpendQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpenQuest.com for more details.