Comer summons Minnesota officials as House probes massive social services fraud

Minnesota welfare fraud may exceed $9 billion 'The Big Weekend Show' co-hosts dissect the alleged $9 billion Minnesota welfare fraud scandal. FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is widening its probe into allegations of widespread fraud within Minnesota's social services programs, which prosecutors suggested could be worth billions of dollars. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent letters to seven current and former Minnesota state officials on Monday morning, inviting them for transcribed interviews with his panel. Comer sent two additional letters to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, seeking the federal government's cooperation in the probe and requesting briefings for committee staff by Jan. 9. LABOR SECRETARY ANNOUNCES 'STRIKE TEAM' GOING TO MINNESOTA TO INVESTIGATE RAMPANT FRAUD House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) "The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating reports of widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs. As the Director of Nutrition Program Services and in your previous roles as the Assistant Director of Nutrition Program Services and Supervisor of Business Operations and Support Services for the Minnesota Department of Education, you have information that will assist the Committee’s investigation," read one such letter, sent to Emily Honer, the director of Nutrition Program Services at the Minnesota Department of Education. "Accordingly, we request your testimony at an in-person transcribed interview on January 26, 2026. If you do not voluntarily appear for the interview, we will be forced to evaluate the use of the compulsory process." Another current official, Minnesota Department of Education Assistant Commissioner Daron Korte, was asked to appear on Jan. 28. Similar letters were sent to the following former officials with requests to appear on dates ranging from late January through early February: former Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead, former Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker, former Minnesota Department of Human Services Chief Financial Officer David Greeman, former Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Tony Lourey, and Eric Grumdahl, the department's former assistant commissioner of Homelessness & Housing Supports. ILHAN OMAR DEFENDS MEALS ACT DESPITE TIES TO MASSIVE MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME "Whistleblowers have made it clear that American taxpayers were defrauded in Minnesota, raising serious questions about whether Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison failed to act or were complicit in the theft," Comer told Fox News Digital. "Today, the Committee is requesting information from the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice, as well as transcribed interviews with Minnesota state officials." Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future . The probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a town hall meeting at the DeYor Performing Arts Center on April 7, 2025, in Youngstown, Ohio. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images) Officials investigating are now...

Preview: ~500 words