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FLASHBACK: Audit Found That Tim Walz’s Administration Overlooked $250 Million Fraud Scheme

[ST. PAUL, MN] — May 17, 2021: Governor Tim Walz today announced that he has reached a bipartisan budget agreement with Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and House Speaker Melissa Hortman that supports working families, ensures students continue to catch up on learning, and helps small businesses to drive Minnesota’s economic recovery. Flickr/Nikolas Liepins/Official Governor’s Office Photo

Lack of oversight from Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota’s administration contributed to the theft of $250 million from a federal food aid program, according to an audit published by the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) for the state of Minnesota in June.

The scheme’s participants allegedly doctored invoices for millions of meals for children, ultimately siphoning off more than $250 million in federal funds, the OLA report found. Walz, who was selected Tuesday by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate in the upcoming presidential election, claimed he was unable to stop the scheme due to a 2021 court order to resume payments — a claim the judge disputed, according to The Associated Press.

The Minnesota Department of Education, which fell under Walz’s purview as governor, “failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and prior to the start of the alleged fraud, did not effectively exercise its authority to hold Feeding Our Future accountable to program requirements, and was ill-prepared to respond to the issues it encountered with Feeding Our Future,” the OLA audit stated.

I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate.

As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.

It’s great to have him on the team.

Now let’s get to work. Join us:https://t.co/W4AE2WlMTj

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 6, 2024

Heather Mueller, the Minnesota Commissioner of Education at the time of the fraud, was appointed by Walz in March 2021, according to Ballotpedia.

“This is stunning,” GOP Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson told NBC 11 Minneapolis in a June press conference. “The Department of Education and Gov. Walz have repeatedly tried to tell the public that they did all they could… but this report clearly demonstrates that was a false narrative.”

70 individuals were indicted in the case, with five convicted and two acquitted so far, according to a June report from the AP.

Walz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.