House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., celebrated a massive federal operation in Minneapolis as part of a sweeping fraud investigation into largely Somali-owned businesses, saying law enforcement sent a “crystal clear” message.
Emmer, whose district covers much of the northern and western suburbs of Minneapolis, applauded reports that the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officials raided 22 alleged fraud sites on Tuesday morning.
The whip thanked the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security “for taking action against Somali fraudsters.”
He said that “Minnesotans and U.S. taxpayers across the nation are grateful.”
“President Trump and his administration have made it crystal clear — our country will not tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse, and we are not going to allow people to take advantage of Americans’ generosity,” he added.
The DOJ confirmed that the raids were conducted in coordination with federal, state and local law enforcement and were court authorized.
The raids center on federal fraud investigations into largely Somali-owned businesses, including childcare facilities that registered with the state but were allegedly billing for care that was not provided.
Sources told Fox News that two of the raids were conducted at the Quality Learning Center, best known for its misprinted sign that read “Quality Learing Center,” and Baby Halimo Child Care, both in Minneapolis.
The Quality Learning Center received national attention after blogger Nick Shirley visited several childcare addresses, only to find an assortment of vacant or non-operational storefronts, closed businesses or occupants who refused to answer questions or entertain the pair’s mock efforts to “register” a child with the supposed daycare.
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Following reports of the raids, DHS confirmed that HSI “in cooperation with our law enforcement partners, executed criminal search warrants in Minneapolis relating to the rampant fraud of U.S. taxpayers’ dollars.”
Vice President JD Vance, who the president appointed “fraud czar,” also commented after the raids that the fraud task force and DOJ “will be relentless in exposing these fraudsters wherever they may be hiding.”
Emmer has been highly critical of Minnesota state leaders, especially Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, for their handling of the fraud scandal.
In March, Emmer called for a deeper investigation into allegations that Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison knowingly ignored evidence of welfare fraud. He called for those leaders to even face incarceration if the allegations were proven true.
“People are sick and tired of elected officials having a double standard, being treated differently than they are. They’re held accountable for things that they should be held accountable for, when their elected officials are not,” Emmer told Fox News Digital in March.
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“If these two guys are dirty, they should be held accountable, and they should serve jail time.”
Both Walz and Ellison insisted that they were serious about prosecuting fraud in the state’s social programs and that they took action to stop it once it was brought to their attention.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
