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‘Varney & Co.’ Host Stuart Varney discusses the Trump administration’s efforts to combat fraud in Minnesota and California.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessant announced a new round of enforcement measures Friday aimed at identifying and investigating fraud, as the Minnesota scandal, which involved multiple government benefits scams, continues to rock the country.
Bessent, who is on the ground Minnesotasaid the Trump administration would spare “no effort” to recover taxpayer dollars, pointing to increased IRS enforcement, audits of financial institutions and new investigations into nonprofit and pandemic tax credit abuses.
BESSENT SAYS MINNESOTA FRAUD RECOVERY COULD HELP FUND TRUMP’S $1.5T DEFENSE PLAN
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would make every effort to recover funds from the Minnesota fraud scandal. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Treasury will deploy all tools, all tools to put an end to this blatant and uncontrolled fraud and hold its perpetrators accountable,” Bessent told reporters at a news conference. “Minnesota will serve as a genesis and launching pad for investigations into other states,” he added.
Bessent’s comments come amid a massive fraud scandal in Minnesota that has attracted national attention and is believed to involve at least $9 billion in misappropriated funds. The Governor of Minnesota Tim Waltza Democrat, announced Monday that he would not run again amid growing scrutiny of the state’s handling of the case.
MINNESOTA’S ANTI-FRAUD SPENDING SHARPLY INCREASED, LEAVING TAXPAYERS TO PAY TWICE FOR FAILURE
He also said Treasury has so far identified at least four money services businesses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Zone who is under investigation for his potential role in the fraud scheme. Bessent declined to name the companies, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation.
“These companies had an obligation to comply with anti-money laundering laws and they will be held accountable for any crimes they committed,” Bessent said, noting that no charges were filed and the companies were informed they were under investigation.
GRAPHIC UNVEILS FRAUD NETWORK WITNESSING MISSED MINNESOTA OFFICIALS
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he will no longer run for office, in part because of the fallout from Minnesota’s fraud scandal. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Asked about Walz’s potential involvement in the fraud and whether it was directed from abroad, Bessent declined to provide additional details.
“We do not yet know the depth, breadth or level of collusion involved in this financial calamity that Governor Walz allowed to occur, nor whether it was directed from abroad,” Bessent said.
Treasury said more information would be made public as investigations continue, suggesting additional disclosures and possible enforcement action in the coming weeks or months.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines the Trump administration’s priorities for responding to Minnesota’s fraud scandal during an event at the Economic Club of Minnesota in Golden Valley, Minn., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Ben Brewer/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Speaking Thursday at the Minnesota Economic Club, Bessent described the amount of federal funds and taxpayer dollars lost to the scheme as one of the “largest.” blatant welfare scams in our nation’s history to date.
He said that President Donald Trump proposed $1.5 trillion An increase in defense spending could be achieved if the federal government succeeds in recovering funds misappropriated by fraud, waste, and abuse, indicating that welfare fraud investigations are a potential source of funding.
