The following is from Just the News.

Vice President JD Vance says he has referred evidence gathered by Congress regarding alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation.

Vance announced the referral after the House Oversight Committee released a report alleging that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison failed to act against widespread fraud in state-administered programs and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns.

“I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation. Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice.”

– Vice President JD Vance

According to the committee, Minnesota officials knew about significant fraud concerns as early as 2019 but failed to stop payments to entities suspected of wrongdoing.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told Just the News he believes lawmakers uncovered evidence of criminal conduct.

“I think that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison should be held accountable. I think they’ve violated the laws.”

– Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky)

The committee’s report cited the Feeding Our Future case, in which federal authorities determined at least $300 million was stolen from a USDA child nutrition program. The report also estimated that Minnesota’s high-risk Medicaid programs have lost roughly $9 billion to fraud since 2018.

Committee investigators concluded that state agencies had authority to suspend payments to providers suspected of fraud but failed to do so. The report also alleged that employees who raised concerns faced retaliation.

Walz and Ellison have denied wrongdoing.

For more information, read the full article here.