Dem-appointed education officials face new scrutiny as Feeding Our Future scandal widens, Trump targets fraud
New scrutiny has fallen on former Minnesota Department of Education leaders as the Feeding Our Future scandal tied to Gov. Tim Walz widens and President Donald Trump announces new measures targeting fraud in the state.
Feeding Our Future (FOF) was a Minnesota nonprofit that aimed to feed low-income children, though federal prosecutors claimed it illegally funneled more than $250 million in taxpayer funds to shell companies and people who used the money to purchase luxury cars, residential and commercial real estate, international travel and expensive jewelry. MDE was the government’s financial interlocutor responsible for approving and monitoring it.
In 2018, MDE conducted its only administrative review of the child and adult care food program operations (CACFP) at FOF.
According to a 120-page report from Minnesota Legislative Auditor Judy Randall and Special Reviews Director Katherine Theisen reviewed by Fox News Digital, MDE "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and prior to the start of the alleged fraud."
MDE also "did not effectively exercise its authority to hold Feeding Our Future accountable to program requirements [and was] ill-prepared to respond to the issues it encountered with Feeding Our Future," the auditors found.
During the period when the alleged scheme was forming, MDE was led by Brenda Cassellius through January 2019, when Walz took office. Walz then appointed Mary Cathryn Ricker—now at the Albert Shanker Institute, which is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers—to succeed her. Walz announced Ricker’s appointment on Dec. 20, 2018, and she formally began serving in 2019.
Cassellius’ tenure fell during the initial approval of FOF and its 2018 administrative review. Ricker’s tenure notably fell during what the audit described as the pivotal moments in the timeline when the group grew greatly and an approval for a summer foodservice program was made despite FOF losing its federal tax-exempt status.
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As of the June 2024 audit, MDE had only conducted one administrative review of FOF’s CACFP operations – while MDE received at least 30 complaints about FOF during the combined tenures of Cassellius and Ricker.
"By law, state agencies must promptly investigate complaints received or irregularities noted in connection with CACFP and SFSP," the auditors said.
"Many of MDE’s complaint investigation procedures and practices were inappropriate or of limited usefulness, particularly in the context of the alleged fraud. While MDE had written complaint investigation procedures, their limited scope and failure to address important issues undermined their ability to promote good investigative practices."
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The audit also found that MDE created somewhat of a feedback loop in which MDE "inappropriately asked Feeding Our Future to investigate complaints about itself."
Additionally, MDE approved FOF’s SFSP application in June 2020 without re-verifying its nonprofit status, even though the IRS had revoked that status in February 2020 and later posted that revocation online.
Under Ricker’s stewardship, MDE’s payments to FOF increased 2,800% from fiscal year 2020 through 2021, according to the auditor’s report.
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In one 2021 case referenced in the lengthy audit report, a vendor informed the state that FOF requested they offer a kickback and refused – and soon after, FOF canceled that vendor’s contract.
At one point, in 2021, MDE halted payments to FOF, but the group then sued under claims of racial discrimination, according to the Minnesota Reformer. A district judge in Ramsey County then ruled Minnesota couldn’t halt payments unless they confirmed fraudulent behavior, according to the outlet.
Current Education Commissioner Willie Jett II said during a hearing following the audit that his agency made proper referrals to police and that the responsibility for the fraud "lies with the indicted and convicted fraudsters."
Since then, Jett pledged to continue to strengthen oversight of such disbursements, and reportedly established an inspector general and general counsel’s office.
While MDE oversaw FOF, fraudsters also exploited other "low barrier" entry vulnerabilities in programs administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS) around the same time.
In September, Asha Hassan, who was also charged in the scheme, was federally indicted on wire fraud charges for her alleged role in a $14 million scheme to defraud the state autism program.
"To be clear, this is not an isolated scheme. From Feeding Our Future to Housing Stabilization Services and now Autism Services, these massive fraud schemes form a web that has stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer money," U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement.
Fox News Digital reached out to Milwaukee Public Schools – where Cassellius is currently the superintendent – as well as the Albert Shanker Institute for comment from Ricker.