Treasury Secretary launches probe into Minnesota tax dollars allegedly funding Al-Shabaab terrorists

Welfare fraud scandal rocks Minnesota

Fox News host Will Cain breaks down the Minnesota welfare scandal that allegedly funneled money to a Somali-linked terror group on ‘The Will Cain Show.’

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday launched a federal probe into claims that Minnesota tax dollars were siphoned to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab under the Biden administration and Governor Tim Walz – an allegation he said demands urgent scrutiny.

"At my direction, @USTreasury is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab," Bessent posted on X. "Thanks to the leadership of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, we are acting fast to ensure Americans’ taxes are not funding acts of global terror.

"We will share our findings as our investigation continues," he added.

MINNESOTA TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUNNELED TO AL-SHABAAB TERROR GROUP, REPORT ALLEGES

Walz’s office told Fox News Digital that Walz said last week that should a connection be found between Minnesota tax dollars and Al-Shabaab, he welcomed an investigation.

Last month, an investigation conducted by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo of the Manhattan Institute uncovered a web of fraud involving Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program, Feeding Our Future and other organizations in a bombshell report.

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Thorpe and Rufo noted that, in many cases, members of Minnesota's Somali community were perpetrators of fraud. They added that federal counterterrorism sources confirmed that millions of dollars in stolen funds were sent back to Somalia, which is how Al-Shabaab got the cash.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.