As a Minnesotan, I’m appalled by the scale of these thefts, but glad they are actively investigating and charging these people for their crimes. If we had an honest and right minded political/justice system, we would be seeking to uncover and prosecute fraud through the nation.
But it's been under investigation for 4.5 years as I understand, and the theoretical numbers thrown by politicians (hype/lies) are increasingly confusing. So what's the hope for any correction?
Could it be $9B+? Stick enough vague qualifying words around your presentation of the probable truth then yea, sure - at least $9B in spending could be fraudulent.
I mainly ask because it makes me curious how much fraud exists in other states - basically are we picking on MN, or are they the exception?
There's a lot of disputes between state and federal authorities about this. The 9B figure is being disputed, and there's a lot of claims that the state has been kept in the dark about it intentionally, with claims that MN GOP House members on fraud investigation committees have been purposely withholding information from the state, forwarding their information instead to federal prosecutors. These House members don't seem to deny this:
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/house-fraud-committee-wi...
https://www.startribune.com/walz-says-theres-no-evidence-of-...
I'm not sure people are really disputing that the fraud happened. I think there are disagreements about the scope of it and about the way in which the investigation has been happening, and the motives for the way in which it has happened.
Here's the whistleblower portal they set up earlier this year for example:
https://mnhouserepublicans.com/whistleblower-portal/
They then forwarded tips to the federal DOJ and not the state.
So are they picking on MN? I don't think the fraud, to the extent it is there, is them picking on them. The way in which this has unfolded might be.
In any event, thank you for the response and links.
The fraudsters knew they were under suspicion, still got money from the state ,sued the state to force them to pay more - claiming racism, won, a judge forced the state to pay them 250m, blatantly spent the money on sports cars (again - knowing they were being investigated), got caught, tried to pay off the jury, the person who tried to pay of the jury stole the bribe money.
The investigation was wrapped up some time ago, but it did not get a lot of attention for obvious political reasons.
The Mayo Clinic does a lot of groundbreaking research, new techniques, ultra-rare diseases... stuff that is super awesome, but nonetheless relatively unlikely to have established billing norms.
I will also remind you that in most U.S. states, the largest employer in the state is either a university or Walmart. In Minnesota, it's Mayo.
You cease to have a democracy. The real power sits with the verifier in that system.
As someone who lives in Minnesota, I wish the US Attorney’s office would provide data about the alleged Medicare fraud to the MN state government, like they have requested.
Instead, they speculate about a ridiculous amount of money being stolen ($9B) that is likely an order of magnitude larger than the actual loss, providing no proof, and sharing zero information with the relevant agencies in Minnesota’s government.
If there is fraud, please prosecute it and collaborate with my state’s government to uncover it so our tax dollars can go towards medical care for real people.
Actual fraud has happened here in MN, an organization called Feed Our Future stole hundreds of millions of dollars by claiming to provide food to students. [0], [1] We’d appreciate any actual help the federal government can provide, instead we get politicized press releases.
[0] https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/minnea...
[1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/78th-defendant-charged-fe...
Your governor has been subpoenaed by House due to accusations that he was aware of the fraud. I’m not surprised the state isn’t in the loop.
No he hasn't.
This should be handled at the federal level, even just to reduce the chances of another jury bribe attempt!