New Legislative Session, More Fraud

February 23, 2026

New Legislative Session, More Fraud

Dear Neighbors,

The short 2026 Legislative Session began last week, and unfortunately, things turned into a public battle on the House floor by Thursday. Democrats wanted to talk about and put up bills related to ICE, while Republicans wanted to talk about Fraud and passing the bipartisan Independent Office of the Inspector General bill that passed the Senate almost unanimously last year. In our tied House, the end result was that Democrats blocked the fraud bill (because they wanted to gut it instead) and Republicans blocked the immigration bill. Let’s hope the next 11 weeks of session are more productive, as I believe Minnesotans are rightly demanding more.

As you may know, I am the Vice-Chair of the Fraud Committee. We held hearings all during the interim last fall and have been incredibly busy trying to focus on exposing the fraud and finding solutions to make sure it stops. We need accountability, action, and no excuses. Minnesotans are livid about the fraud epidemic that has been allowed to fester under the Walz Administration. I will continue to work to ensure that those who stole our hard-earned tax dollars are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, while taking action to advance policies that will prevent such a breach of public trust from ever happening again.

Feds Respond to Letter: Investigate MN Fraud

Last year, the Minnesota House Republican Caucus wrote a letter to the White House and the US Department of Justice requesting federal assistance in prosecuting fraudsters in our state. We are grateful that the federal government has responded to our request, and I recently sat on a panel with US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to discuss his plans for helping us hold all involved accountable.

Secretary Bessent will be activating the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in Minnesota to conduct forensic audits of fraudulent wire transfer activity. They will be establishing a digital perimeter around Hennepin and Ramsey counties to make it extremely difficult to send money out of the country, as well as setting up a whistleblower network with financial incentives for those who turn in co-conspirators.

The audit team and software at FinCEN are the best of their kind in the world, and we are encouraged to have them on our side. These investigations will take time, but I am pleased to be able to tell you that justice is coming.

You can watch the full panel with Secretary Bessent HERE.

DFL Attempts To Gut Inspector General Bill

Much of the reason that Minnesota's fraud epidemic went on so long comes down to the fact that the Walz Administration ignored it — even when it was blatantly obvious. This is why it is critical that we pass SF856 this year, which will create an Independent Office of the Inspector General (OIG). As you may recall, I was the original Chief Author of HF1, which created this office in a different form. After a year of meetings with both parties (mostly in the Senate), we negotiated a final product we could all support. That bill passed the Senate as SF856 (Gustafson). It did not pass the House, as House Democrats blocked it. My main goal this session is to get that bill passed, and we are meeting again in a bipartisan manner to try to make that happen.

By establishing an Independent OIG, which will have broad legal authority to investigate fraud and put criminals behind bars, we will put an end to the executive branch's politicization and monopoly on prosecutorial authority. Minnesotans' tax dollars should be protected by an apolitical institution, not simply by the whims of whoever happens to sit in the Governor's Office at any given time.

Last week, some members of the DFL attempted to gut major portions of the bill that pertain to the legislative OIG's enforcement ability. This has caused frustration, as I have been working for over a year to put together this bipartisan piece of legislation that all reasonable members of the House and Senate can get behind. We did not let this stand.

You can watch the Floor debate on the OIG bill HERE.

At the end of the day, we all want the same things: we want to see criminals held to account, and we want to make sure that this betrayal of the goodwill of Minnesotans can never happen again. I am honored to serve on your behalf to achieve these ends, and I look forward to updating you as Session moves forward.

Please Contact Me

Please continue to reach out if I can be of any assistance to you. You can reach me by phone at 651-296-3018 or by email at rep.patti.anderson@house.mn.gov.

Have a great weekend! 

Patti

/RepPattiAnderson

2nd Floor Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.3018