SEC SCOTT BESSENT: How to stop fraud in Minnesota—and across the country

Over the past respective years, criminals person exploited the civilization of "Minnesota nice" to bargain billions of dollars successful payer funds successful 1 of the astir egregious frauds successful our nation’s history. Under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, these fraudsters—many of whom are not adjacent American citizens—lined their pockets with wealth that was initially intended to provender bare children, location disabled seniors, and supply services for young students with peculiar needs.

Last week, I traveled with my squad to Minneapolis to conscionable successful idiosyncratic with the investigators, prosecutors, legislators, and assemblage members connected the beforehand lines of combating this crime. Their vexation was palpable. There, we learned much astir a transnational wealth laundering strategy that festered nether President Joe Biden and the state’s governmental leadership. The ungraded was unprecedented successful its scope and scale. But truthful is President Trump’s program to hole it by attacking fraud astatine the source—both successful Minnesota and crossed the country.

At the president’s direction, the Treasury Department is examining the transportation of funds allegedly sent from the affected parts of Minnesota to different countries, including Somalia. These funds are often sent done wealth services businesses, which supply fiscal services extracurricular of accepted the banking system. This wealth could person perchance been diverted to violent organizations, specified arsenic Al-Shabaab. Treasury has a agelong past of pursuing the wealth to financially suffocate atrocious actors, similar the mafia and Mexican cause cartels. Now we are doing the aforesaid to unopen down Somali fraud rings.

TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT VOWS TO LEAVE 'NO STONE UNTURNED' IN MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE

As portion of this effort, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the IRS are investigating fiscal institutions that whitethorn person played a relation successful abetting rampant fraud. Specifically, we are evaluating whether these institutions person complied with their ineligible obligations nether the Bank Secrecy Act and Treasury’s regulations, which are designed to observe wealth laundering and safeguard the U.S. fiscal strategy from abuse.

Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, speaks to members of the media extracurricular the White House successful Washington, D.C. connected Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.  (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Treasury is besides taking steps to disrupt transgression networks from within. The fraud rings successful Minnesota person galore tentacles. But we volition exposure them each by offering incentives for whistleblowers who are consenting to cooperate with instrumentality enforcement and place perpetrators.

BESSENT BLAMES WALZ AS TREASURY PROBES WHETHER MINNESOTA FRAUD FUNDS REACHED TERROR GROUP AL-SHABAB

Beyond pinpointing the root of the fraud, it is captious that we forestall much payer dollars from leaving the state for improper purposes. That’s wherefore FinCEN has issued a Geographic Targeting Order for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties successful Minnesota, which volition necessitate banks and wealth transmitters to study further accusation astir funds transferred extracurricular of the United States valued astatine $3,000 oregon more. 

Treasury has besides trained Minnesota instrumentality enforcement to utilize the information they stitchery from these reports to forestall this ungraded from happening again. This volition enactment a microscope connected fraudulent businesses, beforehand prosecutions and assistance successful the betterment of funds laundered internationally.

BESSENT SAYS MINNESOTA FRAUD RECOVERY COULD HELP FUND TRUMP’S $1.5T DEFENSE PLAN

If individuals are connected welfare, they should not beryllium successful a fiscal presumption to nonstop wealth overseas. And yet thousands inactive do. This means that American taxpayers are efficaciously supplementing the incomes of overseas individuals. 

This indispensable stop. 

To measure the prevalence of this practice, Treasury’s Geographic Targeting Order requires fiscal institutions wiring wealth overseas from Hennepin and Ramsey Counties to cheque a container to bespeak if the funds are from immoderate federal, state, oregon section authorities payment program.

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Sadly, Minnesota does not person a monopoly connected this benignant of fraud. Similar misconduct is astir surely happening successful galore different states, particularly states similar California, New York, and Illinois, which enforce lax controls connected the usage of authorities payment funds. In fact, our ain Government Accountability Office estimates that the authorities whitethorn suffer much than $500 cardinal each twelvemonth to fraud. This is simply a staggering fig larger than the GDP of astir countries. It represents up to 10% of national taxation revenues each twelvemonth and astir 1% to 2% of GDP.

Eliminating this fraud wholly would bash much than immoderate different national measurement to alleviate the load connected taxpayers and trim the deficit. That is wherefore President Donald Trump has created a caller part wrong the Department of Justice with the sole intent of prosecuting fraud nationally. 

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The president wants to standard the exemplary we person established successful Minnesota to basal retired waste, fraud, and maltreatment successful each country of the country. Extraordinary transgression requires an bonzer response—and President Trump has provided that by launching the largest anti-fraud run of the 21st century.

Under erstwhile administrations, criminals managed to crook authorities benefits into a multibillion-dollar concern enterprise, systematically bilking taxpayers of their hard-earned money. But that ends now. President Trump has launched an all-of-government effort to retrieve stolen funds and prosecute taxation thieves. He volition springiness nary 4th to fraudulent criminals—in Minnesota oregon anyplace other successful the country.

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