Appearing Saturday on Newsmax's "The Count" Minnesota Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins said she believes "millions, in many cases," and potentially far more, could have been saved had state officials acted earlier on fraud warnings, accusing leadership of ignoring red flags and now "trying to take credit for the crackdown."
Robbins sharply criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, calling it "unbelievable that he is acting like he's somehow had a role in the criminal indictments, arrests and charges that have been brought by our federal partners."
She added that "his administration has consistently turned a blind eye to multiple whistleblower reports" and "consistently avoided responsibility and then … tries to take credit when our federal partners come in and clean up his mess."
Responding to Walz's recent remarks that "the buck stops with me" and that officials are "fighting fraud," Robbins dismissed the claims, saying, "taking credit is like trying to have the arsonist claim credit for the work of the fire…this is insane."
The lawmaker pointed to testimony from whistleblower and former state trooper Jay Swanson, who said he "first heard" scammers learned about Minnesota's vulnerabilities "while in the refugee camp in Kenya," describing the state as "easiest" for fraud and where "you could make the most money."
Robbins called the situation "unconscionable," emphasizing that Swanson "raised these concerns in 2018" but was "basically told to shut up."
She said that after those warnings reached state officials, "instead of digging in and doubling down on these criminal prosecutions, they closed Jay's criminal investigative unit," shifting focus to administrative overpayments rather than criminal enforcement.
"Criminal investigations were done," she said, arguing that decision "led to not only the explosion in child care fraud" but also to the broader "Feeding Our Future" scandal.
"If they would have shut it down right away, it would have saved billions of dollars in our state," Robbins said, adding that taxpayers were "funding this criminality" while officials claimed ignorance.
Robbins concluded that accountability remains critical, saying, "If we can have accountability in Minnesota, then we can actually restore an equilibrium across this nation."
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James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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