Dear [email protected],

On Thursday, federal prosecutors confirmed what many Minnesotans have feared for a long time. Minnesota’s fraud problem is far worse than previously known. The number now stands at a staggering $9 billion.

That figure represents roughly half of the $18 billion in Medicaid payments made during Governor Tim Walz’s time in office. Legislators had been hearing reports for some time that fraud could be this extensive, but this is the first time a U.S. Attorney publicly put this number to it.

The size of the number only confirms what Minnesotans already know. Our state has become a magnet for people looking to cheat the system. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson made it clear this is not a case of a few bad actors. He described it as “staggering” and “industrial-level” fraud.

We have watched this pattern repeat itself over and over. Enrollment explodes. Costs skyrocket. Oversight falls behind. Fraud rings move from one vulnerable program to the next. Prosecutors even announced new charges involving people traveling here from other states after hearing how easy Minnesota was to exploit. They called it “fraud tourism.”

Federal agencies are now stepping in with audits, warnings, and strike teams because Minnesota leadership failed to act. Governor Tim Walz had years to take fraud seriously and stop this before it reached this level. He did not.

Here is what should outrage every Minnesotan, regardless of politics. Every stolen dollar was intended for a child with a disability, a senior, someone struggling with mental illness, or a family who truly needed help. That money came from taxpayers who are already stretched thin by Minnesota’s high cost of living and high taxes.

Governor Walz failed to protect taxpayers. Minnesotans are the ones paying the price.