Minnesota Representatives send letter to the Minnesota Department of Education for handling of $250 Million COVID 19 Scheme that took money from hungry children. 

U.S. Congress Members Michelle Fischbach, Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad of Minnesota were four of the seven U.S. Representatives who sent a letter to Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett questioning the Minnesota Department of Education’s role in what has been described as the “largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation.” 

The letter comes after the U.S. Attorney charged 60 individuals associated with Feeding Our Future with allegedly defrauded $250 million from the United States Department of Agriculture. The money intended for feeding hungry children.

In the letter the members wrote that “The U.S. Attorney has charged 60 individuals with federal crimes for benefiting personally from an illegal scheme that diverted $250 million of Federal Child Nutrition Program funds away from feeding hungry children. Given these disturbing events impacting some of our nation’s most vulnerable, we write today for information as we continue our oversight of the USDA’s and the Minnesota Department of Education’s administration of Federal Child Nutrition Programs and Feeding Our Future.”

The congressional group also wrote that “In March 2020, in response to the pandemic, Congress provided additional flexibility to states and local organizations to provide nutritious meals. … Unfortunately, this flexibility made it possible for fraud and improper payments. These allegations raise many questions about the management of these programs at the USDA and MDE, and perhaps in other states. In this case, it is unclear how the FNS and its partnering state agency, MDE, failed to prevent this fraud, which has been described as the ‘largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation.’”

The group of Representatives include Congresswoman Virginia Fox (NC), Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (KY), House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA), and Minnesota Representatives Michelle Fischbach, Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad.