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Dippel




*"If you'd like to contact Rep. Dippel, please do NOT reply to this email. Rep. Dippel can be reached at "*[email protected]

 

Hello from the State Capitol,

 

About a month ago, I shared details about the rampant fraud that is taking place in Minnesota. At that time a report stated that Minnesota taxpayer dollars are being sent overseas to fund terrorist organizations, and I joined others in asking for a federal investigation to be conducted into Minnesota’s fraud problems.

 

A lot has changed in a month. And almost all of it is bad for the taxpayer, as the scope of fraud and the degree to which it has been covered up is mind-blowing. It’s so bad that the federal government is now auditing programs or has suspended payments to them, everything from child care to SNAP funding.

 

I’ll try to lay this out in chronological order, as each fraud revelation seems worse than the previous.

 

*TWO HOUSE STAFFERS FIND MORE FRAUD THAN AN ENTIRE AGENCY*

In December, our House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee discussed potential fraud in the assisted living and adult day services programs. During the hearing, a web of interconnected assisted living companies, realtors, other healthcare companies, and individuals with ties to a Feeding Our Future defendant was unveiled, which raised red flags about internal controls in the Minnesota Department of Human Services and Department of Health.  

 

Even though these agencies have countless employees who could be investigating fraud, two Minnesota House staff members were able to uncover this web of interconnected Medicaid providers who are still receiving taxpayer dollars for Assisted Living Facilities and Adult Day Service. This despite clear evidence that they have mismanaged or defrauded taxpayers in other programs. This information was sent along to the U.S. Attorney, as the agencies appear to be a dead end.

 

You would think, at a minimum, the Department of Human Services would be investigating anyone with ties to the Feeding Our Future scandal, as well as those who have had program payments terminated, licenses revoked, or have made cash payments for multiple properties used as assisted living facilities. And yet, that remains too much to ask of those working in the Walz administration.

 

*FRAUD, ONCE ESTIMATED AT $2 BILLION IS NOW $9 BILLION – AT LEAST!*

Not long after that hearing, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson revealed new details about the unprecedented fraud scandal currently unraveling in Minnesota.

 

Thompson announced charges against five new defendants involved in the Housing Stabilization Services program, as well as others in the Integrated Community Support and EIDBI (autism support) programs. The charges include a case against two residents of Philadelphia who traveled to Minnesota after hearing that the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program was “easy money.”

 

Thompson also provided a new estimate of the total amount lost to fraud since 2018. According to Thompson, *_$18 billion has been paid out since 2018 to providers across 14 Medicaid provider categories designated as “high risk” by state officials in October, with "half or more" being fraudulent._*

 

Thompson highlighted a new vector of fraud - fraud tourism - in which individuals from other states come to Minnesota to establish shell companies solely to exploit our total lack of oversight. Because oversight of these programs is so inadequate, Minnesota has effectively become a magnet for fraud.

 

*FRAUD TAKES DOWN GOVERNOR WALZ’S RE-ELECTION EFFORTS*

Two days before maybe the most damning Minnesota fraud facts came to light, Governor Walz dropped his run for re-election, and blamed President Trump and Republicans for pretty much all of life’s problems.

 

*PROOF OF WALZ ADMINSTRATION FRAUD COVER-UP*

The nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA), which audits certain divisions in state government, recently analyzed the Behavioral Health Administration within the Department of Human Services and its annual issuance of roughly $200 million in grant funds to mental health and drug and alcohol addiction providers.

 

What if found was proof that state employees within the Walz administration were actively and knowingly covering up fraud, stating it is a “systemic” problem – not just one random incident – where multiple DHS employees were in on the charade.

 

Specifically, the auditor found Behavioral Health Administration employees to intentionally mislead the Auditor’s investigation, falsify and backdate records, inappropriately accept grant applications, and basic noncompliance. In one instance, an employee approved a massive grant for an organization, then quit her job that same week to accept a job with the organization to which she had just authorized the payment.

 

I'm sorry, but this is criminal activity. These are not random allegations. We now have multiple documented incidents – in just one branch of one agency - where people within the Walz administration knowingly tried to hide their illegal actions. Anyone who thinks this is some random one-off is not being honest with themselves and is viewing the world through partisan glasses, which is a shame, because the tax dollars of both Democrats and Republicans are being stolen and everyone should be outraged by that.

 

Further, this fraud epidemic goes well beyond Governor Walz. These problems have been going on for decades, the result of legislative Democrats approving laws that have not only created this culture but also encouraged it to run rampant. I hear every day from my constituents that they are tired of being ripped off. As I continue to hold these individuals accountable, it's going to be up to residents to demand change. But if people choose to sit on the sidelines, these problems will continue to be ignored by the other side of the aisle, as they have been for decades.

 

Talk to you soon,

 

Tom









Centennial Office Bldg.
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-296-3135
[email protected]







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