Federal officials announce 15 criminally charged in fraud schemes targeting $90 million in taxpayer dollars

Several top U.S. officials are in Minneapolis announcing about “major law enforcement action involving fraud” in the state, including HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. (left), Colin McDonald who is with the U.S Justice Department (center), and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz.(WCCO / Taylor Rivera)

MINNEAPOLIS (KFGO/WCCO) – U.S. officials are announcing about “major law enforcement action involving fraud” in Minnesota.

“Today, we are announcing criminal charges against 15 defendants in Minnesota for fraud schemes that targeted over $90 million in taxpayer dollars,” said Colin McDonald with the U.S Justice Department.

McDonald says they’re creating a Healthcare Fraud Midwest Strike Force to further their investigations and prosecutions.

“The fraud here in Minnesota is shocking,” McDonald added. “Our cases today involve seven different state-managed Medicaid programs that have been systematically pilfered by fraudsters, who treated Minnesota-run programs as their personal piggy bank.”

McDonald called the fraudsters “agnostic,” and says they take advantage of any program they felt was vulnerable. He says the department is deploying 15 newly hired prosecutors to areas struggling with fraud nationwide.

“And now my message to the fraudsters is this: eat, drink and be merry today, because your days of frolicking and freedom are numbered,” McDonald said. “We are doing everything we can to find you, and when we do, we will prosecute you. And we will claw back every dollar you have stolen from the American people.”

U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Daniel Rosen, also says the fraud runs deeper than the Feeding Our Future scheme.

“The truth is Feeding Our Future is only a start, and we believe it’s only a small fraction of the fraud that is actually ongoing here in the state of Minnesota,” Rosen noted.

A judge handed down Thursday a prison sentence of more than 40 years to the former leader of Feeding Our Future. Aimee Bock was convicted in the $250 million fraud case in which Feeding Our Future helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic.