Bessent said his agency has launched a series of actions to combat fraud in the state and has launched investigations into four businesses that people use to wire money to family members abroad to do more to scrutinize transactions. He did not name the businesses. His visit to the state coincides with protests in Minneapolis after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman in a residential neighborhood south of downtown on Wednesday, leading to a clash between federal and local leaders.
The crackdown has come as some of the state's most prominent Democratic leaders - Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Ilhan Omar - have been critical of Trump. The latest: Federal agents were in Minneapolis on Monday conducting an investigation into child care and other purported fraud, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on X. Here's what you need to know...
The action comes after years of investigation that began with the $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted. Prosecutors said the organization was at the center of the country's largest COVID-19-related fraud scam, when defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children. A federal prosecutor alleged earlier in December that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds