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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. Treasury Department is stepping up scrutiny of financial transactions involving Minnesotan residents and businesses and Somalia as the federal government escalates immigration enforcement in the state. Speaking to reporters during a Friday visit to Minnesota, Bessent said the department has launched actions to combat fraud and has begun investigations into entities involved in cross-border money wiring.
Bessent said the Treasury has launched investigations into four businesses that people use to wire money to family members abroad, but he did not name the businesses publicly. He also said he met with multiple financial institutions during the visit to ask them to do more to prevent fraud, but the department did not disclose which institutions were involved.
The timing of Bessent’s announcement overlapped with unrest in Minneapolis. Protests erupted after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in a residential neighborhood south of downtown on Wednesday, a development that preceded a clash between federal and local leaders.
Bessent’s remarks also tied the Minnesota effort to what he described as fraud and the need to recover stolen funds. He said the Treasury would “deploy all tools” to end what he described as egregious, unchecked fraud and hold perpetrators accountable, adding that the investigation work would continue state by state. In a speech on Thursday at the Economic Club of Minnesota, he said the Treasury’s commitment included recovering stolen funds, prosecuting fraudulent criminals, preventing scandals like the one he referenced from happening again, and investigating similar schemes.
Bessent’s comments came as Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, before ending his bid for a third term this week, said fraud will not be tolerated and that his administration would keep working with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped. Walz said he was “furious” with “criminals that preyed on the system that was meant to feed children,” referring to the Feeding Our Future case.
That nonprofit case has been cited by federal prosecutors as a major driver of the Treasury’s renewed attention. The AP report said prosecutors put the Feeding Our Future losses from coronavirus pandemic aid meant for school meals at $300 million, and that its founder, Aimee Bock, was charged with multiple counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery and was convicted in March while maintaining her innocence.
The Treasury actions that Bessent described include Financial Crimes Enforcement Network investigations into Minnesota-based money service businesses. The department also said it was adding enhanced transaction reporting requirements for international transfers from residents in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, and it planned alerts to financial institutions on identifying fraud tied to child nutrition programs.
Bessent also said the Treasury first announced last month that it would begin targeting money service businesses, focusing on remittances to Somalia. The AP report said the move was prompted in part by the alleged pattern of fraud cases, and it described how President Donald Trump has targeted the Somali diaspora in Minnesota with immigration enforcement actions and made disparaging comments about the community, directing Bessent to uncover more fraud.
The announcement drew criticism from civil-liberties and policy quarters. Nicholas Anthony, a policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, said Bessent is “building a legacy of financial surveillance and control.” Anthony said the announcement should be condemned for stopping Americans from sending money abroad and increasing surveillance under the Bank Secrecy Act.
Some Somali leaders also said the heightened scrutiny has raised concerns locally. The AP report said some Somali leaders received anecdotal reports that community members had been detained by federal agents but had no details, and it said those leaders and allies including Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vowed to protect the community. Bessent, according to the report, addressed alleged fraud in his Thursday speech without mentioning the Somali community that his department is targeting.