Disability advocate: Vulnerable people suffered due to Somali fraud under Tim Walz’s watch

During a Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, disability advocate Nathaniel Olson delivered a blistering indictment of Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), accusing the administration of allowing rampant fraud to flourish while disabled Minnesotans suffer the consequences.

The committee, chaired by Republican State Rep. Kristin Robbins, is investigating a growing web of fraud tied to Minnesota’s assisted living programs, the latest sector to be engulfed by corruption amid an already exploding statewide fraud scandal that has led to renewed calls for Walz to resign.

According to the Star Tribune, two years before federal prosecutors indicted Christopher and Emmanuel Falade, DHS had already been warned about potentially fraudulent conduct by Faladcare LLC.

In September 2023, an unidentified caseworker flagged the company for falsifying timesheets to collect taxpayer funds through Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program.

The complaint alleged the company was “evasive and nonresponsive” and raised concerns about poor communication and a lack of transparency.

Yet DHS never investigated the complaint. Instead, the agency kicked the matter to an outside Medicaid administrator—and kept the money flowing.

Payments continued for nearly two more years, only stopping after the FBI raided Faladcare’s offices in July. Federal prosecutors later indicted the Falades, alleging they billed more than $2.2 million in fraudulent services.

State data shows over $700,000 was paid to the company in 2024 alone, after DHS had been made aware of the allegations.

Olson, who identified himself as a disability advocate for the state of Minnesota, did not mince words.

He directly accused the Walz administration of knowing the fraud was coming, and doing nothing to stop it.

Olson also blasted Walz for stopping the blame game and politicizing the scandal rather than taking responsibility.

Nathaniel Olson:
Madam Chair, I’m Nathaniel M. Olson, a disability advocate for the state of Minnesota. I’ve heard the commissioners and the Department of Human Services, but the one thing that I’m really worried about is this fraud that is happening across our state—where there are 600,000 people with disabilities in the state of Minnesota who could suffer.

Sadly, it’s quite interesting that we have Governor Walz speaking in front of the state and saying that this fraud is nothing but this side. But my people are done suffering. We’re done with this fraud. We’re done with the Department of Human Services coming up here and saying, “Oh, we’re going to figure this out.” This has gone on for too long.

The administration knew that this fraud was coming. I’ve talked to families, parents—everyone has been reaching out to me and saying, “This is what is happening to my child. This is what is happening to my child. We’re afraid.”

We need to put aside these differences, and we need to come together and put a stop to this fraud. Our governor is not doing anything to help us, but instead sits here and decides he wants to blame Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States, who has nothing to do with this.

There is a time to hold our governor accountable, and I’m not seeing it. This fraud is outrageous. I am very scared for my little brother if he goes into an ICF home. But right now, he’s home with my parents, and he’s going to stay there—because I’m going to keep fighting for these people with disabilities. None of them are right here, and I am their voice.

It is time for us to say enough is enough. I’m done. It makes me sad to see what’s happening to our state. This was a great state. It was. But all of this fraud that is happening—and all of these excuses—need to stop. Minnesota needs to become a great state again.

Trending: BREAKING: MIT Professor Shot and Killed in His Massachusetts Home

WATCH:

WATCH: Disability advocate Nathaniel Olson just RIPPED into Tim Walz and Minnesota’s DHS during today’s Fraud and Prevention Oversight Committee hearing.

“I’ve heard the commissioners and the Department of Human Services, but the one thing I’m freaking worried about is this… pic.twitter.com/wQ9NkvrSzt

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) December 17, 2025