Over the last couple of weeks, one of the major headlines for conservatives has been the massive corruption scheme in Minnesota in which COVID-19 aid programs were exploited.
I say “conservatives” because the mainstream media has, for the most part, been ignoring the story.
That may soon change, now that a whistleblower has come forward regarding similar fraud in Ohio, the home state of Vice President JD Vance.
That is the name of the program in which much of the fraud that took place in Minnesota originated.
The program was set up to feed schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it wound up serving as a money funnel to fraudsters.
Shell companies were set up, in turn submitting invoices for meals and services allegedly provided, while those in charge did not actually do anything for the children the program was meant to help.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has been tied to the fraud due to the fact that she helped promote the program. She and other Democrats have also received campaign donations from some of the fraudsters, although she has not yet been directly implicated in the criminality itself.
One of the reasons the fraud was able to run so rampant is a gross lack of oversight on spending, as we often see with government programs.
The federal government writes a massive check, then never follows up to see how that money is being spent.
Another reason for the previously undetected fraud is the modern-day taboo of daring to call out anyone of color for potential corruption. And the fact that this fraud was rooted mostly in the Somali community that Rep. Ilhan Omar represents likely made anyone sniffing around hesitant to come forward.
So far, there have been nearly 80 people charged in the larger fraud scheme, with 59 convictions already secured, implicating more than $1 billion in stolen funds.
It turns out that similar fraud is likely happening in other states, including our vice president’s home state of Ohio, according to attorney Mehek Cooke. She claims that some Somali residents in Ohio have admitted to being pressured into participating in a Medicaid scam running rampant in the state.
She stated, "They're just rubberstamping a lot of [claims]. And then that same individual, a week later, that's supposed to be bedridden, is all over social media, whether they're out dancing at a party or something like that. So, the symptoms aren't really adding up at the end of the day."
Cooke later added, "We have entrusted states to look at the funding and to allocate it to build programs, to build rules and regulations. But unfortunately, in states like Ohio, it is being infiltrated and broken down because you don't actually have independent assessments with not only doctors but somebody at the Department of Medicaid coming in.” She added that this is just a “snippet” of what was exposed in Minnesota.
And now you know why Democrats don’t want anyone looking into these programs and why they objected to the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency so much. I firmly believe they know fraud is taking place, but they are all terrified of what will happen when it gets exposed, so they would rather just keep pouring taxpayer money down the drain. It’s despicable, and it is why we need a complete audit of every taxpayer-funded program in existence. You truly want to cut down our budget? This is the fastest way to do it.
