Vice President JD Vance has formally referred Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to the Department of Justice for a potential criminal fraud investigation tied to the administration of state social services programs, Newsmax reports.

Announcing the move Monday, Vance argued that state officials must be held accountable if wrongdoing occurred.

“Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimidated whistleblowers, they must face justice,” Vance wrote Monday on X.

According to NBC News, Vance said his referral was based on findings outlined in a letter and investigative report issued by the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee.

The committee’s report alleged that the Walz administration failed to adequately address widespread fraud involving taxpayer-funded assistance programs and took action against employees who raised concerns about suspected abuse of public funds.

Investigators with the committee concluded that senior Minnesota officials had been aware of allegations of fraud for years but did not utilize available tools to stop questionable payments or remove providers accused of misconduct.

On Sunday, the House Oversight Committee sent Vance a letter urging him, as chairman of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, to examine Minnesota’s social services operations more closely.

President Donald Trump appointed Vance to oversee the anti-fraud task force in February after declaring a nationwide “war on fraud” during his State of the Union address.

Soon after taking on that role, Vance joined Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz in announcing a temporary halt to certain federal Medicaid reimbursements flowing to Minnesota.

Walz sharply criticized that decision, insisting it was politically motivated rather than connected to concerns about fraud.

At the time, Walz said the action had “nothing to do with fraud” and called it a “campaign of retribution.”

In a post on X dated Feb. 25, Walz accused the administration of targeting Democratic-led states, writing: “Trump is weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota.”

Minnesota has come under intensified federal examination during Trump’s second term amid claims that fraud was occurring within daycare and other publicly funded assistance programs.

State officials maintained earlier this year that childcare centers connected to some of the allegations were operating appropriately and had not engaged in misconduct.

In April, federal agents carried out multiple raids across the state as part of a broader investigation into alleged misuse of welfare funds.

At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said the operations were conducted pursuant to court-authorized warrants connected to “the rampant fraud of American taxpayer dollars.”

Trump and several of his allies have alleged that members of Minnesota’s Somali community played a role in some of the suspected fraud schemes.

Following the raids, Walz expressed support for the enforcement action, noting that Minnesota agencies had worked alongside federal authorities after identifying and reporting suspicious conduct.

“That’s how the system is supposed to work, and our agencies will keep at it as long as there are fraudsters around to put behind bars,” Walz wrote on X.

The latest referral adds to a growing list of federal investigations and legal disputes involving Walz and Minnesota during the Trump administration.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department launched an inquiry into Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, alleging that public statements by the two officials may have interfered with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

That investigation followed a major immigration operation in Minneapolis that triggered demonstrations and was followed by the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Walz has repeatedly dismissed that inquiry, arguing that it was driven by politics rather than evidence.

Last month, the Justice Department also filed a separate complaint challenging Minnesota’s policies concerning global greenhouse gas emissions regulations.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors recently charged 15 individuals in Minnesota in what officials described as the largest Medicaid autism fraud case ever pursued by the Justice Department. Authorities allege that approximately $90 million was improperly taken from the program.

{Matzav.com}