ST. PAUL – State Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Cloud, said recent FBI raids of St. Cloud and Minneapolis autism centers underscore the need to enhance oversight of government programs to combat fraud.
The FBI searches last Thursday came just two days after Perryman had issued a public statement advocating for heightened state agency accountability and better accounting in response to a series of reports detailing waste and fraud linked to government programs in Minnesota.
“It's become one investigation after another documenting hard-earned tax dollars being lost to fraud and waste in our state,” Perryman said. “Our governor and his agency commissioners have not done enough to address this growing problem and Minnesota taxpayers are suffering for it. All told, it’s hard to even calculate how many hundreds of millions – or more likely, billions – of tax dollars have been mismanaged by lax oversight with one-party control in Minnesota.”
Reports indicate the number of autism providers in Minnesota has increased 700 percent in the past five years, accompanied by a 3,000-percent increase in funding to those services including $400 million in 2023 and ’24 according to the search warrant. Federal investigators say they found “substantial evidence” providers submitted fraudulent claims for services not provided or covered by the program. Additionally, the warrant shows at least 12 people charged in the Feeding Our Future case owned, received money from or were associated with autism centers that got state funding for providing services.
“This has gone on far too long, costing taxpayers too much,” Perryman said. “We’ve seen it all, from the theft of Feeding our Future and childcare assistance dollars to phony frontline worker pay and beyond. This clincher is now House Democrats are even adding to the waste by using public tax dollars to pay more than $130,000 to cover a Democrat legislator’s private legal fees.
“Minnesota taxpayers are being exploited at every turn and we must implement greater oversight and tighter controls to make it stop. The governor and his administration cannot continue turning a blind eye to this growing problem. House Republicans will be working to find serious solutions in the upcoming legislative session.”
In July, Walz said that he was “not aware” of the FBI investigation and seemed unaware of allegations of fraud in Minnesota’s autism program.
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