A scathing rebuke from Ramsey County District Court Judge John Guthmann has shed light on the mismanagement of a federal food aid program by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s administration. In 2022, Guthmann admonished Walz for making “inaccurate” and “false” statements regarding the governor’s role in continuing payments to the scandal-plagued Feeding Our Future nonprofit.
The controversy surrounds a coronavirus-era welfare program that was allegedly exploited by dozens of Somali migrants, who stole $250 million meant for children in need. As of June, only $50 million has been recovered.
An audit by a nonpartisan watchdog group revealed that Walz’s Department of Education failed to exercise proper oversight over the program, allowing the scheme to go unchecked. The audit’s findings were corroborated by a statement from Judge Guthmann, who approved a release stating that Walz’s claim of being forced to continue making payments to Feeding Our Future was “false.”
In fact, Guthmann’s statement revealed that it was Walz’s own Department of Education that resumed payments to the nonprofit in June 2021, despite the organization’s “serious deficiencies.” The decision to resume payments has been widely criticized by Republican legislative leaders, who blame Walz for the failure.
Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R) called the report “stunning,” saying that it clearly demonstrates that Walz’s administration did not do all it could to prevent the scheme. State Rep. Patti Anderson, a former state auditor, echoed Johnson’s sentiments, stating that the administration could have stopped the scheme long before it reached $250 million in fraudulent claims.
