Minnesota Officials Skip Fraud Hearing as Governor Walz Pledges Reform

Minnesota Human Services Department Skips Key Fraud Prevention Hearing, Drawing Criticism

Minnesota Department of Human Services officials failed to attend a critical state House fraud prevention panel hearing this week, provoking sharp criticism from the committee chairwoman while Governor Tim Walz separately pledged reform efforts.

The department was expected to face rigorous questioning at the hearing, which featured retired judge Tim O’Malley, a former Catholic diocesan official recently appointed by Walz to investigate “program integrity” in the state’s social services programs.

“I’m incredibly frustrated that they ghosted us,” said House Fraud Prevention Committee Chair Kristin Robbins, a Republican from suburban Minneapolis who is also running for governor. Robbins has since sent a letter to the department demanding answers about their absence.

At Monday’s hearing, Robbins publicly acknowledged the department’s absence before proceeding with the session focused on “the roadmap to program integrity and fraud prevention” and periodic data matching procedures.

“Before we begin, is there anyone in the Department of Human Services in the audience? I don’t see anyone,” Robbins remarked. “So I just want to note for the record that DHS was invited to be available in the audience to answer questions today after Judge O’Malley’s presentation. And they have apparently declined to come, which is very frustrating.”

Robbins later told Fox News Digital that what made the situation more troubling was that DHS officials arrived for the subsequent Ways and Means Committee hearing held in the same room. “What was more shocking is, as we gaveled out, the next hearing was coming in, a Ways and Means Committee hearing, and all the DHS people walked in the door for the next hearing because they wanted to ask for money from the state… but they couldn’t bother to show up to react to the governor’s own program integrity report. It was unbelievable,” she said.

When contacted about the absence, a DHS spokesperson stated that “the department had a prior commitment Monday morning.” The spokesperson noted that DHS has testified before the committee eight times since it began in February 2025, and that the agency supports O’Malley’s work. Robbins disputed this explanation, maintaining that the department should have prioritized this particular hearing given its significance.

The hearing comes amid escalating concerns about extensive fraud in Minnesota’s social service programs. Tim O’Malley, who did attend the hearing in his capacity as Walz’s newly appointed director of Program Integrity, offered a stark assessment of the situation.

“Minnesota has experienced extensive, well-documented fraud in programs designed to serve the state’s most vulnerable residents,” O’Malley testified. “The state’s ineffectiveness in combating that fraud has wasted taxpayer dollars, enriched criminals, eroded public confidence, and impeded the delivery of essential services to Minnesotans in need.”

The controversy surrounding program integrity has grown significantly in recent months, with questions about billions in potential fraud. Robbins has previously stated that state leaders “knew this was going on and they allowed it to continue,” suggesting negligence at high levels of government.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Governor Walz acknowledged structural issues in the state’s human services system, comparing it to a “Frankenstein” monster that has been patched repeatedly rather than properly reformed.

“When I came here, the discussion was, if you recall clear back in 2019, that reforms around DHS as a large organization that does multiple things that we needed to think about modernizing… Minnesota’s system of delivery around social services is a bit of an outlier in how it’s done,” Walz said.

The governor outlined plans to modernize Medicaid administration, strengthen oversight of program enrollment by centralizing eligibility decisions, and fund a comprehensive study to examine the roles of state, county, and tribal authorities in service delivery.

The tensions between the legislative oversight committee and the state agency highlight the politically charged nature of addressing fraud in Minnesota’s social service programs, which have come under increasing scrutiny. The issue has escalated to the federal level, with congressional hearings and potential penalties from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services looming if the state fails to adequately address the problems.

As Minnesota works to implement reforms, the absence of key department officials at oversight hearings raises questions about accountability and transparency in the process of rooting out what appears to be systemic fraud in programs meant to serve the state’s most vulnerable populations.