Friends and neighbors,
On August 1, the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced it is shutting down the Housing Stabilization Services program after widespread fraud was uncovered. This program was, in theory, supposed to help Minnesotans with disabilities and mental illness find and keep housing. It was supposed to cost about $2.5 million per year. Instead, costs exploded and it became another example of the waste, fraud, and abuse of your tax dollars that has been a hallmark of the Walz administration:
- $21 million in 2021
- $42 million in 2022
- $74 million in 2023
- $104 million in 2024
- $61 million in just the first half of 2025
Similar to other Minnesota fraud cases, federal investigators uncovered a large scheme where providers billed for services that were never delivered. Investigators found multiple cases of forged documents, fake service logs, and billing for tens of thousands of dollars per client. The FBI has already raided multiple organizations, and DHS has suspended payments to 77 providers based on credible allegations of fraud. More than 1,800 providers had been part of this program.
DHS now says it will shut the program down and begin working on a redesign. They admit the current structure lacks the safeguards to prevent fraud or protect the people who were supposed to be helped. Despite all this, the public still has no clear answers on how this fraud was allowed to grow or how much money has been lost.
Once again, this is deeply frustrating. Minnesotans work hard and expect their tax dollars to be used responsibly, but instead they are watching their tax dollars get stolen in some new fraud scheme with each passing day.
Catching these fraudsters isn’t enough. We need real oversight, real transparency, and real accountability. And above all, we need to restore trust and make sure public programs are actually serving the people they were created to help.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
Sincerely,
