FACT CHECK: Trump’s unproven claim on fraud in Minnesota during SOTU

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTTC) – President Donald Trump made mention of Minnesota during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

He used the North Star State to draw attention to his plan to combat financial fraud within government programs.

Vice President JD Vance will lead the “war on fraud,” Trump said in his speech, while touting his administration’s targeting of alleged Medicaid fraud in Democratic-led states such as Minnesota.

“When it comes to the corruption that is plundering, it really is plundering, America, there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer,” the president told his primetime national audience. “We have all the information, and in actuality, the number is much higher than that.”

The president’s $19 billion amount lacks evidence. That figure far exceeds estimates from the U.S. Department of Justice.

What we know

In December, now former federal prosecutor Joe Thompson said that half or more of $18 billion in federal funds billed by Medicare services in Minnesota might be fraudulent. Half of $18 billion is $9 billion.

Thompson, who resigned in January amid tension with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement in the state, called the $9 billion figure an early estimate rather than a firm number.

Minnesota has also been plagued by the highly-publicized Feeding Our Future fraud scheme that involved the misuse of federal child nutrition program funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current amount tied to this case stands at around $250 million, according to the DOJ.

While the majority of those charged or convicted are Somali, the ringleader of the fraud scheme is a white woman. Aimee Bock is awaiting her sentence.

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