Walz's Minnesota: Million-Dollar SNAP Fraud Scheme In Governor's Backyard Sparks Outrage: 'Cruel Joke'

T. Tim Walz

In a shocking development that has left exactly zero people who have been paying attention to Minnesota even mildly surprised, authorities have uncovered a million-dollar food stamp fraud operation running right in Tim Walz's backyard, as if he was clueless.

The scheme, which authorities described as involving "a high degree of sophistication," apparently consisted of buying stuff at Sam's Club and Costco and then reselling it; truly the kind of criminal mastermindery that would make Ocean's Eleven look like a grocery run, and might actually eliminate Walz from suspicion for that reason.

Abdidwahid Mohamed, owner of the creatively named Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, allegedly racked up $1,141,082 in EBT payments using cards registered to other people. Investigators say they watched him make the purchases, followed him back to his store, and confirmed it all with surveillance and GPS. Many of the actual cardholders were either out of the country or insisted they never shopped at those stores. Shocking to think that such skulduggery exists in Minnesota.

"Mohamed received $1,141,082 in EBT payments," according to the complaint, which added that the plan "involved a high degree of sophistication or planning or occurred over a lengthy period of time."

Mohamed faces up to only 20 years in prison or a $100,000 fine if found guilty, penalties that in Minnesota probably come with a participation trophy and a strongly worded letter.

Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer is demanding accountability from Governor Tim Walz amid the state's broader fraud woes, including a staggering $9 billion Medicaid probe. Emmer alleges Walz is either incompetent or complicit in the theft of taxpayer funds, highlighting what critics call a thriving culture of corruption. One thing for sure, if Walz is complicit, he's certainly not the mastermind.

"Minneapolis didn't become America's fraud capital by accident," Dalia al-Aqidi (a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District against Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar) told Fox News Digital. "It was earned. This week, it's a grocer charged with running up $1.1 million in charges on other people's EBT cards. Next week, it will be something else, but the bill always lands on the Minnesotans who actually pay taxes."

Aqidi says that families tell her "affordability" is what "keeps them up night" and the "cruel joke is that the money is here to really make a difference for people."

"It is just lining the wrong pockets and paying for luxury cars and houses on the other side of the world. The fraudsters are only half the story. The other half are the people administering these programs, from the front lines all the way up to Ilhan Omar, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Governor Tim Walz. There has been talk about ending fraud in Minnesota for years. I am going to Washington to actually do it."

Two Republican lawmakers echoed the frustration. State Sen. Mark Koran called it "yet another example of why Minnesota is target number one for fraudsters."

"The sheer volume of welfare programs, combined with the inability of state agencies to detect obvious fraud is alarming. Once again, it was a private retailer, not the state, that uncovered this fraud scheme," Koran added, referencing the suspect being initially flagged by Walmart’s Global Investigation Team.

"All individuals involved, including the people that sold their EBT cards to Abdi Mohamed, have to be fully prosecuted," Koran said. People who come here to steal from hardworking Minnesota taxpayers deserve serious consequences.

State Sen. Michael Holmstrom kept it real: "This may be the laziest one yet."

"We had this guy, Abdi Mohamed, and he named his scam company 'Minnesota Food Grocery LLC.' They aren’t even trying, because they have been conditioned to believe there are no consequences."

The bust comes as part of a larger fraud scandal centered in Minnesota's social services programs, particularly within the Somali community, and a fresh Trump administration push against food stamp abuse.

"Since its inception, SNAP has helped our most vulnerable citizens afford the essential and nutritious food they need," Rollins and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a Fox News op-ed in March. "At least, that is what the program is supposed to do.

"Over time, however, SNAP has been taken advantage of, allowing many to game the system and leaving millions of vulnerable Americans without healthy, nutrient-dense food options."

In related news, Minnesota officials continue to express bewilderment that when you create a massive, poorly supervised pile of free money, people occasionally treat it like a pile of free money. Walz could not be reached for comment, as he was reportedly busy checking the state couch cushions for another $9 billion.

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MN fraud scandal: 6th family member who met with Keith Ellison to plead guilty

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and AG Keith Ellison (D) face questioning over an alleged $9 billion fraud. Critics accuse them of a cover-up, diverting funds meant for vulnerable citizens. Imagine that, a pair of Democrats being accused of covering up fraud.

Yet another member of a family within Minnesota’s Somali community is expected to plead guilty on Thursday in the massive fraud scandal that has drawn national attention and prompted criticism of Attorney General Keith Ellison over a meeting he held with members of the family in question. Let me repeat: Ellison met with members of the family in which one guy will likely plead guilty of fraud.

Gandi Mohamed, 45, (Probably D) is expected to either plead guilty at a change of plea hearing scheduled for Thursday or choose to enter a plea of no contest, which would allow him to accept conviction and be sentenced without admitting guilt, according to court records. No contest is as good as pleading guilty, but sounds better.

Mohamed is the sixth member of his family who would be pleading guilty in the scheme prosecutors say fraudulently claimed to be serving meals while instead pocketing $14 million from the federal child nutrition program, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Bill Glahn told Fox News Digital that "it’s good that he and his co-conspirators have all been convicted in the case, however, a courtroom trial would have been a useful exercise to show the public the scope and scale of the fraud."   

The Mohamed family was present at the now infamous 2021 meeting between Ellison and members of the Somali community where would-be fraudsters could be heard asking the state's attorney general to help them secure more funding, before the conversation turned to campaign donations.

"The only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena. Putting our votes where it needs to be. But most importantly, putting our dollars in the right place. And supporting candidates that will fight to protect our interests," one of the Somali community members says in the recording.

"That's right," Ellison responds.

Ellison has denied any wrongdoing regarding the recording, saying he was completely unaware of the fraudsters' crimes at the time of the meeting. [And if you believe that, you might be interested in a bridge I have for sale in Brooklyn]. The meeting occurred before any convictions in the case and before President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice had indicted anyone."I took a meeting in good faith with people I didn’t know and some turned out to have done bad things. I did nothing for them and took nothing from them," Ellison wrote in an April 2025 op-ed for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Following that meeting, Gandi gave the maximum $2,500 campaign donation to Ellison that the attorney general returned to the Department of Justice in 2025.

"Our Attorney General, Keith Ellison, is not only looking the other way but doing so after taking donations from these very fraudsters," Republican Dalia al-Aqidi who is running for Congress in Minneapolis against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) told Fox News Digital. "This is a betrayal of every Minnesotan who trusted him with that office."

Al-Aqidi explained that the voters in her district are "furious" about the fraud scandal.

"Which is why I've rolled out a five-point plan to prevent fraud before it starts," al-Aqidi said. "This isn't just about taxpayers, it's about people who really need food and housing. Preventing fraud isn't complicated, it just takes the political will to stop this type of abuse. It's clear that this scheme is being used to buy votes, and that has to stop."

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