The Real Welfare Fraud Scandal

"If the Trump administration were truly concerned with fraud in social services spending, it wouldn't start with childcare, and it wouldn't start with Minnesota. The allegations surfaced over a decade ago: A handful of childcare centers in Minnesota had defrauded the state and federal government by billing for children who weren't actually being cared for. Then, during the pandemic, some groups again took advantage of laxer rules for emergency funding meant to cushion Americans from an immediate crisis by again siphoning funds without delivering services."

"Investigations have long been underway and arrests have been made. At least a dozen people and centers in Minnesota have been charged with fraud. But that's no matter to the Trump administration. After a right-wing influencer showed up unannounced at childcare centers run by the members of the Somali community in Minnesota and claimed to have uncovered fraud when the programs wouldn't let him in, the administration has resurfaced these allegations to launch a crusade against what it's characterizing as rampant fraud in federal childcare funding and other programs."

"If the Trump administration were first and foremost concerned with fraud in social services spending, it wouldn't start with childcare, and it wouldn't start with Minnesota. It would start with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which, when it replaced the previous federal welfare program in the 1990s, was turned into essentially a slush fund for states. And it would start not in a blue state but in deep red Mississippi."

A handful of Minnesota childcare centers billed for children who were not actually cared for, and some groups exploited looser pandemic emergency funding rules to siphon funds without delivering services. Investigations and arrests have followed, with at least a dozen people and centers charged in Minnesota. After a right-wing influencer visited Somali-run centers and alleged fraud when denied entry, the administration revived the allegations and framed a broader campaign against alleged rampant fraud in federal childcare funding. Far larger misuse occurred in Mississippi's TANF program between 2016 and 2020, with at least $77 million misspent or stolen, including funds diverted to a university volleyball stadium, illustrating deeper oversight vulnerabilities.

Read at The Nation