A U.S. House committee has issued a subpoena to Gov. Tim Walz compelling his office to turn over documents relating to the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent subpoenas to Walz and Education Commissioner Willie Jett on Wednesday as part of an investigation into what has been called the largest COVID-related fraud scheme in the country.
Prosecutors say the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future and its sponsored meal sites fraudulently claimed to serve millions of meals to school children under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal Child Nutrition Program and received $250 million in reimbursements.
The state Department of Education was responsible for administrating the program here in Minnesota, and an audit by the Office of the Legislative Auditor found MDE’s lack of oversight created opportunities for fraud.
In her letter on Wednesday, Foxx said the committee twice requested information from MDE officials regarding the agency’s handling of the Feeding Our Future fraud and had so far found the Walz administration’s actions “were insufficient to address the massive fraud.”
“Statements in the press by you and your representatives indicate that you and other executive
officers were involved, or had knowledge of, MDE’s administration of the FCNP and responsibilities and actions regarding the massive fraud,” Foxx wrote.
When asked in June about accountability for government employees in charge of administering the FCNP, Walz said no employee had done “anything that was illegal.”
“Held accountable in terms of their jobs or the things that they’re doing?” he said. “This wasn’t malfeasance. Again, both of these cases there’s not a single state employee that was implicated doing anything that was illegal. They simply didn’t do as much due diligence as they should have.”
Foxx is now demanding Walz’s office to produce “responsive documents that will show the extent of the actions taken by you and your administration relating to MDE’s administration of the FCNP and the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children.”
The Walz administration has until Sept. 18 to comply with the subpoena. Additional subpoenas were issued to the USDA and the Office of the Inspector General, according to a news release.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Walz did not directly address the subpoena when asked for comment.
“This was an appalling abuse of a federal COVID-era program,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “The state department of education worked diligently to stop the fraud and we’re grateful to the FBI for working with the department of education to arrest and charge the individuals involved.”
So far, 70 people have been charged in federal court for their alleged involvement in the scheme. A jury convicted five defendants earlier this year, and 18 others have pleaded guilty.
A copy of the subpoena is attached below.
For Related Stories: Congress Feeding Our Future Minnesota Department of Education Tim Walz U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Publish date : 2024-09-04 15:00:00
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