History's Biggest Welfare Heist Happened Under Walz's Nose

Something deeply disturbing is happening with taxpayer dollars in Minnesota and across this country.

We're talking sham businesses, phantom services, and insiders gaming the system while hardworking Americans foot the bill.

America First Policy Institute recently sent a detailed investigation to House Oversight Chairman James Comer outlining alarming evidence of fraud tied to federal welfare programs. Representative Brandon Gill introduced AFPI's letter of investigation into the official congressional record during a March 4 hearing on fraud.

What we uncovered should concern every American taxpayer.

The examples that we found are not just suspicious... some of them are almost unbelievable.

Our independent investigation reveals fraud FAR beyond what's been previously reported. Untold millions, potentially BILLIONS, siphoned from programs like TANF, CCDF, and Medicaid.

Fake daycares, ghost rides, bogus autism clinics, and empty home-care facilities dominating the headlines? That's just the tip of the iceberg. We've analyzed 50K+ providers & 20K+ businesses – the scale is staggering.

🚩 A Daycare Next Door to an Addiction Center

Start with this building.

According to Minnesota records:

1️⃣ Alliance Wellness operates addiction treatment services here

2️⃣ Right next door sits Tendercare Learning Center, a childcare center claiming to supervise nearly 90 toddlers

Even more concerning...

Tendercare has been sanctioned at least 20 TIMES for safety violations involving infants. Yet it remains licensed today.

And Alliance Wellness? The state’s Medicaid system at one point listed some of its addiction-treatment houses as gynecology and oncology practices.

Yes... oncology practices. In small residential homes.

🚩 A “Dentistry” Office That Isn’t Licensed to Do Dentistry

Another example involves a business called Al-Shifa Dentistry. Based on the name and website, you might expect it to provide dental services... right?

But according to Minnesota’s Medicaid provider listings -

The business is registered as:

1️⃣ an autism treatment center

2️⃣ an emergency physician services provider

It is not actually certified to provide dental services.

How does something like that happen inside a government health system?

🚩 Fraud Suspects Still Receiving Millions

The scandal around Feeding Our Future, which involved more than $250 million in fraud, shocked the country.

But some individuals connected to that scandal are still tied to businesses receiving federal funds.

One example:

An individual linked to a Feeding Our Future defendant continues to operate MULTIPLE Medicaid-certified group homes.

Since 2021 alone, those businesses have received over $2.5 million in taxpayer subsidies.

And that individual reportedly also holds a position as a county health official.

🚩 A Nonprofit That GREW its Funding by 900% While Under Investigation

Action for East African People (AEAP)—registered as an autism center, an emergency physician care provider, and a prosthodontist.  In 2025, AEAP’s founder, Ayan Abukar, pled guilty to defrauding more than $5.7 million in federal nutrition benefits.

Governor Walz, in 2021, personally awarded Abukar the Outstanding Refugee Award for Entrepreneurship. (see below)

Even more concerning? In 2024, Abukar was charged by state prosecutors, but Minnesota Attorney General Ellison personally intervened. A settlement was reached that allowed the organization to continue operating, requiring only that Abukar step down.

AEAP has enjoyed a 900% increase in federal funding during the years it was investigated.

Where did these taxpayer dollars go? Well, Abukar spent millions on real estate, including a 37-acre commercial property in Lakeville, and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase an aircraft in Nairobi, Kenya.

🚩Government Money for a Facebook Page

Under its “East African Culturally Specific and Appropriate Opioid Services” initiative, Minnesota awarded an $760,000 in supplementals to various Somali nonprofits, including the Ka Joog organization.

Under something called the “Diverse Media Contractors” program, Minnesota also awarded federal COVID relief funds to self-purported news outlets owned by Somalis and other East Africans. Chief among those awardees was Zehabesha LLC, which appears to be nothing more than an Ethiopian man who posts Amharic content to a Facebook page and TikTok account.

And while one can only speculate as to why the Walz Administration used federal tax dollars for such purposes, it is important to note that the Somali community has made significant efforts to lobby nearly all levels of Minnesota’s government. Between 2015 and 2023, the Ka Joog organization spent approximately $89,500 on advocacy at the Minnesota Legislature and elsewhere.  These efforts, more to the point, took place over the pendency of criminal investigations and, as is especially relevant here, at the exact same time Attorney General Ellison intervened and withdrew charges.  In fact, organizations like Ka Joog appear to have hired seasoned veterans to lobby for their causes. Shepard Harrison, a prominent St. Paul-based lobbyist and accomplished left-wing operative, appears to have helped Ka Joog and other Somali organizations secure more than $1 million from the state.

Link to above posts on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4355006058102336

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2097784660626382

‼️Why Does This Matter

After analyzing data across 50,000 providers and tens of thousands of licensed social service organizations, AFPI believes Minnesota’s fraud problem may be far larger than we thought.

If the patterns we identified exist nationwide, the scale of fraud could be staggering.

Every dollar stolen from these programs comes from American taxpayers.

From families. From workers. From people who play by the rules.

That’s why AFPI has formally asked Congress to expand its oversight investigation.

Minnesota may not be unique. It may simply be the first place where someone looked closely enough.

🇺🇸America First Means Protecting Taxpayers

Taxpayer-funded programs should help the people they were designed to serve.

Not enrich fraudsters.

Not fund fake businesses.

And not disappear into systems with no accountability.

The American people deserve answers. And AFPI intends to keep digging until they get them. Because this systematic and blatant fraud is insulting to every hardworking American taxpayer.

Article was first seen on X, by America First Policy Institute