In a December 2025 Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee hearing, which was chaired by Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove), she addressed the Department of Human Services (DHS) Inspector General, explaining why her committee has not shared whistleblower tips with his office.
Explaining her decision, she blamed a lack of trust, noting that fraud occurred “on your watch,” that whistleblowers fear retaliation and feel ignored by state agencies, and that sharing could deter future reports.
For context, the committee launched its own portal last spring, which received hundreds of tips on issues such as Medicaid and child care fraud. The courageous lawmaker said credible allegations are vetted, then referred to federal authorities or the Legislative Auditor with subpoena power, rather than DHS, to protect sources and ensure proper investigation.
Starting her comments, she laid out the situation. “We did receive your letter, Inspector General, asking us to share information with you on credible whistleblower reports. And to date, we have not, because there is no trust,” the lawmaker alleged.
Building on this point, she said, “As you might understand, this fraud has been perpetuated on your watch, and the whistleblowers who reach out to us within the department are terrified, and they feel that they’ve been retaliated against already.”
“They feel that they are very afraid. They’re afraid to reach out to us, and if they thought we were, then turning around and giving it to you, we would not have whistleblowers,” the courageous Republican said to hammer her point home.
Continuing her comments, she explained that, “So we initiated a whistleblower portal last spring in response to people who were afraid to come to you, and that has received hundreds of tips. Belatedly. You all also put out a whistleblower report portal this fall, which I think hopefully is also generating tips.”
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Still not done, she dug into the details of the case, saying, “When I get credible allegations of fraud from whistleblowers, we meet with them, we interview them, we ferret it out as much as possible. But as you know, legislators do not have access to bank records, health records, subpoena power, the Swift payment system that the state uses to pay things.”
“So I can only get an investigation so far, but when we get it, we go to the US attorney, the FBI, and the Office of Legislative Auditor, who have access to all those records,” Rep. Robbins stated to explain the situation to the rest of the chamber.
Watch the explosive allegations here:
Wrapping up her comments, Rep. Kristin Robbins declared, “So our whistleblowers are being protected, and they are also being reviewed for further investigation, and I would like to have a more collaborative relationship with you, but I have to say, if whistleblowers thought we were turning everything over to you, it would stop.”
Featured image from embedded video