In a somewhat underreported incident from back during the 2024 election cycle, an incident that raises serious questions about Minnesota Governor and failed candidate for vice president, Tim Walz, as he indicates he might run for president in 2028, was slapped with a subpoena from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), related to an ongoing investigation into the Feeding Our Future (FOF) scandal.
According to investigators, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), which oversaw the controversial program during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed FOF to allegedly misappropriate $250 million meant for feeding children. For context, despite widespread criticism, Walz denied any wrongdoing and claimed that there was insufficient due diligence.
The subpoena sought additional information on MDE’s decisions, communications with federal agencies, and any internal investigations. However, while denying wrongdoing, Gov. Walz has proposed changes to the program as of the spring of 2025, claiming that such changes would help prevent future fraud.
In any case, the September of 2024 subpoena notice let Tim Walz know that he was under investigation, and laid out the suspicion against him. The letter read, “The actions taken by you and other executive officers were insufficient to address the massive fraud.”
Reacting to these allegations, Gov. Tim Walz denied any wrongdoing in a June 2024 statement. The failed VP candidate stated, “This wasn’t malfeasance. [Employees] simply didn’t do as much due diligence as they should have.”
In a letter from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Virginia Foxx hinted that this scandal may promote new laws, saying, “The fraud in the FCNP is within the Committee’s jurisdiction and is a subject on which legislation could be had.”
As we reported, Guhaad Hashi Said, a close associate of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), has pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and misappropriating $2.9 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through his nonprofit, Advance Youth Athletic Development, from 2020 to 2022.
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Explaining the scandal, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson described the massive scale of the fraud. Thompson stated. “The conviction of the 52nd defendant in the Feeding our Future case is yet another reminder of the vast reach of this fraud and the scale of the crisis we face in Minnesota.”
Additionally, the attorney said that this conviction proves the existence of more criminals still at large who target the FOF. He noted, “These crimes are not isolated events. They are part of a web of schemes targeting programs that are intended to lift up Minnesotans and bleeding them dry.”
Still not done, he described the massive scale of this graft, he stated, “From where I sit, the scale of the fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and every rock we turn over reveals more, we must be honest and clear-eyed about the scope of this problem, because ending it will take an unyielding, all-hands-on-deck effort from all of us.”
Additionally, FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. offered a statement on the conviction. He stated, “Yesterday, Guhaad Said pleaded guilty to charges related to a sprawling fraud scheme designed to financially enrich the defendants at the expense of hungry children. Said stole money, falsified paperwork submitted to the government, and was reimbursed millions of dollars to which he was not entitled.”
Building on this point, the experienced FBI agent added, “The FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will ensure this fraud stops, and we will ensure that every defendant in this investigation is held fully accountable for their conduct.”
Providing an update to the ongoing investigation and attempt to correct it in January of 2025, Chairwoman Foxx said, “A taxpayer-funded program to help hungry children was abused. As a result, children and taxpayers were negatively impacted. This is unacceptable. Although the USDA OIG was encouraged to investigate this fraud, it didn’t take action until the Committee’s investigation was underway.”
Continuing, she added, “The internal USDA OIG review found a number of changes are necessary to ensure that the OIG handles fraud appropriately. The Committee is dedicated to ensuring taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and effectively and will continue to work with the USDA OIG to ensure this fraud doesn’t happen again.”