# House Oversight report "The Cost of Doing Nothing" *A 2026 U.S. House Oversight Committee staff report on fraud in Minnesota programs, issued in March and expanded in June.* *The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota's Fraud Explosion* is a staff report of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ([[House Oversight]]) on losses in Minnesota's Medicaid and federal child nutrition programs. The Committee released a 54-page version on March 4, 2026. An expanded 205-page majority staff report under the same title is dated June 8, 2026; the date and title are confirmed on that PDF's title page.[^1][^2] The title names Governor [[Tim Walz]] and Attorney General [[Keith Ellison]], and both appeared before the Committee.[^3][^4] The March version puts Medicaid fraud at $9 billion, a cumulative figure across fourteen [[Minnesota]] Medicaid programs.[^2] The June report estimates roughly $300 million lost in federal child nutrition funds and "potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds lost or at serious risk."[^1] A House Oversight report is a legislative finding, not a criminal adjudication, and its figures are cited here as the Committee's findings.[^2] The report is one of several 2026 federal actions directed at the State of Minnesota. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued Office of Public Affairs release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified that case as a matter of general public importance.[^5] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds no other U.S. state so described. The suit's docket and current status are not stated in the sources cited here. ## Who The June report is a product of the Committee's majority staff.[^1] According to the project's validated master record, Chairman Comer sent the June report to Vice President [[JD Vance]] with a transmittal letter dated June 7, 2026. Vance's referral to Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the [[National Fraud Enforcement Division]] was reported on June 8, 2026. The referral letter's own face date has not been confirmed against a primary copy.[^6] The Committee's releases record testimony from Walz and Ellison and a hearing with both officials.[^3][^4] ## What The report exists in two versions: the 54-page March release and the 205-page June majority staff report.[^2][^1] The Committee's release page for the report states that the Attorney General's office produced eleven documents in response to a subpoena.[^3] Yahoo News reported that the report found the state voluntarily resumed funding to [[Feeding Our Future]].[^7] ## When The Committee released the first version, together with the officials' testimony, on March 4, 2026.[^2][^3] The transmittal letter to the Vice President is dated June 7, 2026, and the expanded staff report is dated June 8, 2026. The referral to the National Fraud Enforcement Division was reported the same day.[^6][^1] The Committee issued a separate release with the June report.[^8] ## Where The June report is framed statewide, against the governor and the attorney general. A project review of the June report found no reference by name to Hennepin County, [[Minneapolis]], or the [[Hennepin County Attorney's Office]].[^1] ## Why The report alleges that Walz and Ellison were aware of fraud by 2019 and failed to act.[^2] The record cited here documents that allegation as a committee finding. It does not establish the officials' reasons for the conduct the report describes, and no court has adjudicated the allegation. ## How The Committee built its record from testimony by the governor and the attorney general at a committee hearing and from documents produced under subpoena.[^3][^4] ## How much The March version reports $9 billion cumulative across fourteen Medicaid programs.[^2] The June version states the Medicaid figure as "potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds lost or at serious risk" and adds an estimate of roughly $300 million lost in federal child nutrition funds.[^1] The two versions give the same $9 billion figure. The June wording presents it as funds lost or at risk rather than as a cumulative fraud total. ## How many The report and its release give the following counts: - 54 pages in the March version and 205 pages in the June version.[^2][^1] - Fourteen Medicaid programs in the $9 billion figure.[^2] - Eleven documents produced by the Attorney General's office on subpoena.[^3] ## In the at-issue record The project searched both versions of the report for [[Carver County, Minnesota]], each of its eleven cities, and its officials. The names searched included Carver, [[Chaska]], Chanhassen, [[Waconia]], Victoria, Cologne, Norwood Young America, Watertown and Mayer. Neither the March report nor the June staff report mentions the county, any of its cities, or any county official.[^2][^1] The at-issue record pairs this finding with the White House presidential action of March 2026 establishing a task force to eliminate fraud.[^9] U.S. Census Bureau data put Carver County's median household income at $125,946, first in Minnesota. The county's median owner-occupied home value is $453,600, also first in the state, and 4.7 percent of its residents are in poverty.[^10][^11] Searches of other documents in the state's fraud record returned the same result for the county: - **Legislative Auditor review.** The [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]]'s June 2024 special review of the Minnesota Department of Education's oversight of Feeding Our Future contains none of the eleven Carver County city names.[^12] - **2022 indictment.** The September 2022 federal charges against 47 Feeding Our Future defendants list no Carver County address among the defendants' cities.[^13] - **Housing and autism-services charges.** Federal charging releases list no Carver County provider or defendant. These include the first wave of [[Housing Stabilization Services]] charges in September 2025 against eight defendants, a later release charging six additional defendants, and the May 21, 2026 Minnesota health care fraud takedown of 15 defendants in more than $90 million in alleged fraud. The searches also covered [[EIDBI]] providers and excluded providers.[^14][^15][^16][^17] ## Omissions in official accounts The Feeding Our Future record contains one defendant with a Carver County address. On January 30, 2025, Mohamed Muse Noor, 40, of Chaska, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, his sites obtained approximately $1.3 million and he personally retained approximately $52,388. The claims rested on fabricated invoices "falsely claiming to be feeding supper and snack to 1,500 children every day."[^18][^19] Neither the March 2026 report nor the June 2026 staff report mentions Chaska.[^2][^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### When In May 2026, after the March report, the Minnesota House passed an inspector general bill aimed at combating fraud.[^20] The League of Minnesota Cities reported that the resulting law created an [[Office of Inspector General]].[^21] The sources cited here do not record the bill's sponsors or the vote by party. ## Notes [^1]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Majority Staff, *The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota's Fraud Explosion* (June 8, 2026) — 205-page expanded staff report; $300 million child nutrition and "potentially $9 billion" Medicaid estimates; no Carver County, Hennepin County, Minneapolis or Hennepin County Attorney's Office names found on project search. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/MN-Fraud-Final-Staff-Report.pdf [^2]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, *The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota's Fraud Explosion* (Mar. 4, 2026) — 54-page original release; $9 billion cumulative across fourteen Minnesota Medicaid programs; allegation of awareness by 2019; no Carver County names found on project search. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-Cost-of-Doing-Nothing_How-Tim-Walz-and-Keith-Ellison-Fueled-Minnesotas-Fraud-Explosion_3.4.26_FINAL.pdf [^3]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, *Release page for The Cost of Doing Nothing* (Mar. 4, 2026) — testimony of Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison; Attorney General's office produced eleven documents on subpoena. https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-explosive-testimony-revealing-minnesota-fraud-cover-up-by-governor-walz-and-attorney-general-ellison/ [^4]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, *Release on the committee hearing on Minnesota fraud with Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison* (2026) — hearing with both officials. https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-opens-hearing-on-minnesota-fraud-with-governor-walz-and-attorney-general-ellison/ [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's "Affirmative Action" Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — release title; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^6]: Project validated masters, *How Minnesota Got Here* and *The Instrument No One Will Name* (refreshed 2026-06-18) — Chairman Comer's transmittal letter to Vice President Vance dated June 7, 2026; Vance's referral to Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald, National Fraud Enforcement Division, reported June 8, 2026; referral letter face date unconfirmed. [^7]: Yahoo News, *Minnesota fraud report: Walz staffers* (2026) — reported finding that the state voluntarily resumed Feeding Our Future funding. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/minnesota-fraud-report-walz-staffers-224139852.html [^8]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, *Release on the committee report on fraud in Minnesota's taxpayer-funded social programs* (June 2026) — release accompanying the June staff report. https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-bombshell-report-exposing-rampant-fraud-plaguing-minnesotas-taxpayer-funded-social-programs/ [^9]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (Mar. 2026) — presidential action used as the at-issue anchor. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^10]: U.S. Census Bureau, *QuickFacts: Carver County, Minnesota* (V2025; 2020–2024 ACS) — median household income $125,946; median home value $453,600; poverty 4.7%. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/carvercountyminnesota/PST045224 [^11]: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, *Carver County profile* — county data and state rankings. https://mn.gov/deed/assets/carver_tcm1045-407439.pdf [^12]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *MDE: Oversight of Feeding Our Future* (June 2024) — special review; no Carver County city names found on project search. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf [^13]: U.S. Department of Justice, *U.S. Attorney Announces Federal Charges Against 47 Defendants in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme* (Sept. 2022) — 47 defendant cities enumerated; no Carver County address. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-attorney-announces-federal-charges-against-47-defendants-250-million-feeding-our-future [^14]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Defendants charged in first wave of Housing Stabilization fraud cases* (Sept. 2025) — eight defendants. https://justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/defendants-charged-first-wave-housing-stabilization-fraud-cases [^15]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Six additional defendants charged, one defendant pleads guilty in ongoing fraud schemes* — six additional defendants. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/six-additional-defendants-charged-one-defendant-pleads-guilty-ongoing-fraud-schemes [^16]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Minnesota health care fraud takedown* (May 21, 2026) — charges against 15 defendants, more than $90 million alleged. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/minnesota-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-charges-against-15-defendants-over-90m-fraud [^17]: Minnesota Department of Human Services, *DHS-295094* — provider record searched; no Carver County excluded provider located. https://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=DHS-295094 [^18]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Chaska Man Pleads Guilty for His Role in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme* (2025) — guilty plea Jan. 30, 2025; approximately $1.3 million obtained; approximately $52,388 retained; 1,500-children claim. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/chaska-man-pleads-guilty-his-role-250-million-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme [^19]: Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, *Chaska man pleads guilty for his role in $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme* (2025) — same plea. https://irs.gov/zh-hans/compliance/criminal-investigation/chaska-man-pleads-guilty-for-his-role-in-250-million-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme [^20]: Minnesota House of Representatives, Session Daily, *After yearlong push, House passes inspector general bill aimed at combating fraud* (May 2026) — House passage. https://www.house.mn.gov/sessiondaily/Story/19159 [^21]: League of Minnesota Cities, *Focus on New Laws: Office of Inspector General Created* (2026) — creation of the Office of Inspector General. https://www.lmc.org/news-publications/news/all/fonl-office-of-the-inspector-general-created/