Walz signs executive order to create a state fraud investigation unit

Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday that he would sign a new executive order to try and prevent fraud.

According to his office, the goal of the order is to create a state fraud investigation unit in an effort to better detect, investigate and punish people who commit fraud of state programs.

The move comes six months after five people were convicted in Hennepin County in the first federal Feeding our Future fraud trial. Those five people were among dozens of others accused of stealing $250 million in taxpayer funds meant to help feed children.

“These are not just financial crimes against the state and against the taxpayers of Minnesota,” Walz said during the press conference. “These are crimes against children, and what we’ve seen in Minnesota is these crimes have basically targeted programs that either feed children or help children in need.”

As part of the executive order, a new centralized state fraud investigation unit will be dedicated to making sure law enforcement is on the front end of fraud cases.

Other parts of the order will expand the Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud unit and give agencies more authority to stop payments should they have suspicions of fraud.

Walz also said they would be implementing new A.I. tools to help look out for fraud incidents and be more proactive in looking for potential cases of fraud attempts.

While Walz believed the package would help with stopping cases of fraud, he said the state needed to be more proactive in preventing it and that fraudsters would adapt, and, in turn, they would need to as well.

“This isn’t a one package is gonna fix all,” Walz said. “These folks will move ahead of us after we do this, and we will need to continue to do things.”