Former Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent Tim O'Malley is the state's new director of program integrity. Photo credit (State of Minnesota / Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings)
ST. PAUL (KFGO/WCCO) – Former Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent Tim O’Malley is the state’s new director of program integrity.
That job is to oversee fraud prevention efforts across state agencies, and comes as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his administration is coming under fire for significant fraud found in several state and federal programs the last few years.
“No one has any tolerance for fraud,” O’Malley said Friday. “It’s a widespread problem in Minnesota and across our country. It erodes trust and must be addressed head on. Minnesotans deserve to know that their tax dollars are being put to good use, and they deserve to know that they have, they can trust our public institutions.”
The appointment comes as the U.S. Treasury Department is targeting businesses that people use to wire money to family members abroad as the Trump administration ratchets up investigations into fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday.
Governor Walz also announced a state partnership with third party experts at WayPoint to implement a statewide fraud prevention program.
O’Malley’s appointment comes after fraud was not prevented in housing, food, and care programs, something Republicans say should have been identified before now.
O’Malley is currently chief judge of the Court of Administrative hearings. He’s also worked for the FBI and was brought in by the Twin Cities Catholic Archdiocese to respond to clergy abuse allegations.
“I do believe, and I will fully own this, we should have been keeping Minnesotans more up-to-speed on what was happening,” Walz admitted. “We should have been, I think, on a better cadence, as you see things that were happening in 2022, as the tools that were given to the administration would get there.”
In accepting the post Friday morning, O’Malley acknowledged that U.S. Republicans are critical of the move, and saying Walz allowed fraud to happen.
“While I’m honored that Governor Walz has asked me to assist in combating fraud here, know that I’m not here to serve him,” O’Malley explained. “I’m not here to serve any individual, and I’m not here to serve a political party. I’m here to serve Minnesotans.”
Minnesota has faced scrutiny for fraud cases, starting with the massive COVID fraud case stemming from Feeding Our Future, a program designed to feed needy children that ended up bilking taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Out of 78 suspects indicted in that fraud, so far, more than 50 pled guilty. Another seven were found guilty at trial, including the leader of the scheme, Aimee Bock. Many others are still awaiting trial.
“Of course we always wish we would have known more sooner, but I don’t think having an insight into that or seeing that,” added Walz. “Remember these programs were crafted, many of them during COVID. The guard rails were taken off and the guidance was to move the money.”
Newly appointed U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Daniel Rosen, told WCCO Radio’s Jordana Green earlier this week investigations into these fraud cases is continuing, and his office has estimated there has been over $1 billion stolen across those schemes.
House Speaker and Republican challenger to Walz in the 2026 election, Lisa Demuth, is calling the move “desperate” in a statement posted to social media Friday.
“Tim Walz is desperate to show he can recover from his failures,” she writes. “When the legislature returns to session in February, I will lead House Republicans in our push — again — to create an Office of Inspector General to stop Tim Walz’s fraud culture in its tracks. I’m hopeful that House Democrats will see the light this time around as they hear from their constituents that stopping fraud should not be a partisan issue.”
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