Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Announces “Several Initiatives” to Target Somali Fraud in Minnesota – Creates “Protocols” for Fraud in Other States

The Gateway Pundit previously reported on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments regarding the ongoing Somali fraud exposé in Minnesota.  Bessent said that the Treasury Department was investigating several money transfer services for their involvement

Today, in an update, Secretary Scott Bessent held a press conference in St. Paul, Minnesota with online participating in which he officially announced several initiatives that the Treasury Department was taking to target fraud, waste and abuse in Minnesota.  Secretary Bessent said that these initiatives will be “protocols” for other states.

“Our citizens have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund acts of global terror or to fund luxury cars for fraudsters.  Democratic Governor Tim Walz has allowed welfare programs and fraud to spiral out of control.  Billions of dollars intended for hungry children, housing for disabled seniors, and services for children with special needs were diverted to people who cheated the system, some of whom are not even American citizens,” Bessent stated.

The Treasury Department is “thoroughly investigating  the fraud, including funds sent to Somalia through money service businesses” that are outside of formal banks.  “These funds could have potentially been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.”

The Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the IRS are leading the investigation as to whether or not these financial institutions are in compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and Treasury regulations.

As such, Secretary Bessent announced several initiatives by Treasury to target fraud in Minnesota.  “The Minnesota protocols will serve as a genesis and launching pad for investigations into other states,” Bessent said.

“First, we have followed the money and identified the money service businesses that may have transferred taxpayer funds overseas.  Our team at FinCEN  has just provided formal notification to these businesses that they are under investigation.”  The investigations seem to be related to anti-money laundering laws being followed with the Secretary vowing that they will be held accountable for any crimes they committed.

FinCEN also issued a “geographic targeting order” (GTO) that would require reporting of additional information be provided about funds transferred outside of the United States.  This order is for institutions in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.  Bessent later explained that the GTOs would lower the threshold for reporting outbound wire transfers to $3,000 and that the same changes may be utilized in other states.

“This will put a microscope on these businesses, advance prosecutions, and assist in the recovery of funds laundered internationally,” Bessent said.  “Fraudsters in Minnesota stole at least $300 million meant for children in need and we must prevent fraud of this scale from occurring in the future.”

The IRS also intends to announce a task force to investigate pandemic-era tax incentives and misuse of 501c3 tax-exempt status “by entities implicated in the Minnesota-based social services fraud schemes.”

Lastly, the Treasury Department will provide training to Minnesota law enforcement “on how to utilize financial data such as Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to better combat these fraud schemes.”

When asked by the Daily Wire about Tim Walz’s role in all of this and whether his decision not to seek re-election was related to anything uncovered, Bessent said he could not talk about ongoing investigations but did say, “It’s clear that Gov. Walz has been negligent in his fiduciary duties as chief executive…And we are actively pursuing all leads to see the level of involvement, whether its limited to just negligence and incompetence or if its something more than that.”

Watch below (starts at 24:53 mark):

Somali Fraud Press Conference https://t.co/MSdhwfA1Ny

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) January 9, 2026

 

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