ST.PAUL, Minn. — Democratic Governor Tim Walz defended himself and his state agencies against Republican allegations of dallying that let thieves continue embezzling government nutrition aid even after learning what was going on. Walz said state agencies spotted irregularities “very early.” This sequence has been pieced together from what Walz’s account, from court documents, and other sources:
> Spring 2020. A nonprofit organization, Feeding Our Future, applied to the state Education Department to be the coordinator of meals for children and elderly adults under a U.S. Agriculture Department-funded program. This was an emergency federal program for CoVid relief. Feeding Our Future was awarded the contract.
> October 2020. State agencies recognized that things were amiss with reimbursements being issued to meal-preparers by Feeding Our Future. The state alerted the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose find were involved. The USDA, under President Trump at the time, did nothing, Walz said.
> April 2021. The state Education Department was frustrated at USDA’s non-response and cut off payments to Feeding Our Future. But Ramsey County District Judge John Guthmann ordered the state to resume the reimbursement payments or be held in contempt of court. The state Education Department complied with the judge’s order but also went to the FBI for an investigation. The FBI asked the state to continue reimbursements to Feeding Our Future so it could investigate.
> January 2022: With search warrants, the FBI in effect shut down Feeding Our Future.
> September 2022: U.S. Attorney Andy Luger announced that 48 people had been indicted in a fraud of at least $250 million. It was the largest CoVid-related fraud case in the country. Luger said that his office and the FBI had been working “at breakneck speed” to shut down the fraud.
Walz. At news conference defending how the state handled allegations of misdeeds by the nongovernmental disbursing agent Feeding Our Future.
Verbatim
Walz: “We caught this fraud. We caught it very early. We alerted the right people.”
“We were taken to court. We were sued. We were threatened with going to jail. We stuck with it.”
“I was speechless. Unbelievable that this ruling would come down, did not really know what to say. Obviously we had to honor it.”
“I and my team have not been able to say anything because the FBI was in an active investigation, and we were told not to.”
FOF’s face. Happy kids.