Legislative Update: Focused on Fraud

Legislative Update: Focused on Fraud

Friends and neighbors,

The 2026 Legislative Session began this week, and I have several important updates to share regarding Minnesota's fraud epidemic, which is projected to reach up to $9 billion in stolen taxpayer money by the time all prosecutions are concluded.

House Republican Letter Leads To Fed Action

The Minnesota House Republican Caucus has been sounding the alarm about our state's fraud epidemic for years. However, given that DFL leadership personally benefit from campaign donations that are partially funded by our stolen tax dollars, it is no surprise that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison had no interest in investigating fraud at the state level.

However, after President Trump's 2025 inauguration, we were able to take a different approach. Last year, House Republicans authored a letter to President Trump and the US Department of Justice, urging them to send federal resources to investigate fraud in Minnesota. I am pleased to inform you that the White House has responded to our request, and recently sent US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to our state.

Secretary Bessent repeatedly commented how he found it difficult to believe that such a vast sum of money could have been stolen without Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison knowing about, or perhaps even facilitating, the fraud. The Treasury Department will be using the full force of their Financial Crimes Enforcement Network software to hunt down fraudsters, as well as the firms who facilitated fraudulent overseas wire transfers of stolen Minnesota and US taxpayer dollars.

With the federal government now on our side, I am happy to be able to inform you that those who stole our hard-earned taxpayer money will be held accountable to the full extent of the law.

These investigations will take time, but rest assured, they are underway.

Click the HERE to watch the full press conference:

DHS Bureaucrats Attempt To Shift Blame

It is essential that all involved in stealing our hard-earned money are held accountable. However, we also must take action to ensure that this type of industrialized fraud can never happen again. This means demanding answers and establishing a better auditing process over state bureaucracies. Many unelected officials within our state bureaucracies seem to believe they are untouchable and immune from critique. That is going to change.

Department of Human Services Director of State Government Relations, Kristy Graume, exemplified this defiant attitude during questioning this week from our Committee. Though I was encouraged to see many of my DFL counterparts sharing my sense of frustration over her lack of transparency, not all DFL legislators were keen to find out answers. In one instance, Chair Mohamud Noor (D-Minneapolis) blocked me from getting a response to a very basic line of questioning:

After I asked Director Graume, "With regard to whistleblowers... When did you know it, and what did you know, and has anybody been fired?," she didn't even have time to start speaking before Chair Noor interjected, "I don't know if that is the right question for Director Graume. I think we will get the Commissioner to come and testify on some of these issues." 

The taxpaying citizens of Minnesota deserve more than canned answers from the DHS Commissioner. We demand real answers from the boots-on-the-ground employees who neglected to safeguard taxpayers' hard-earned dollars.

Click HERE to watch the full exchange:

At the end of the day, this all leads back to electoral power. From the theft of tax dollars that is conveniently funneled back into DFL campaign donations, to electoral fraud, we will leave no stone unturned. 

I look forward to continued updates as the Legislative Session moves forward.

Tom Murphy

MN State Representative District 9B

Proudly Serving Otter Tail and Douglas Counties

Stay Up-to-Date

Follow me on Twitter @TomMurphyMN and check out my official Facebook Page for daily updates on the important issues at the capitol.

Facebook

/RepTomMurphy

Centennial Office Bldg.
658 Cedar Street
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651.296.6756