In the heart of Minnesota, a sprawling fraud scandal involving Somali-American communities has drawn national attention, with federal investigators estimating potential losses reaching up to $9 billion in misused welfare and Medicaid funds. The controversy, which erupted prominently in 2025, centers on allegations of widespread corruption within nonprofit organizations and resettlement programs, prompting deployments of Treasury personnel to the state and reviews by the Department of Homeland Security of citizenship cases from high-risk countries like Somalia. According to former New York Times reporter and author Alex Berenson, in an opinion piece published on Fox News, the scandal underscores deeper cultural clashes between tribal loyalties imported from Somalia and the individualistic foundations of American society.
The fraud schemes reportedly began gaining traction in the early 2020s, exploiting what Berenson described as Minnesota Democrats' decision to loosen safeguards on federally financed programs, allowing what he called 'mass looting.' Investigations revealed a network of Somali nonprofits accused of siphoning funds intended for vulnerable populations, with the scandal spreading rapidly through community channels. A November report in the independent newspaper County Highway detailed how the Somali community in Minnesota, largely resettled en masse by the U.S. government starting in the 1990s, maintained clan-based structures that allegedly facilitated the fraud's secrecy and efficiency. 'The fraud spread so widely and quickly that it appeared to have no real architect… gallop[ing] through the Somali community, which kept the secret from non-Somali Minnesota with ironclad discipline,' the County Highway piece stated, as quoted by Berenson.
Berenson, drawing from his experiences researching in East Africa, argued that Somali tribalism played a pivotal role. In a 2011 conversation in Nairobi, Kenya, while working on his novel The Night Ranger, he recalled an aid worker explaining Somalis' inward-facing nature: 'Here’s what you need to know about Somalia. It’s on the ocean, right? [Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, almost 2,000 miles.] But most Somalis, they can’t swim, can’t fish, they have no interest in the water. That’s how inward-facing they are, how tribal.' This anecdote, Berenson wrote, illuminates how clan loyalties—sustained by practices like cousin marriages, which account for a significant portion of unions in Somalia and neighboring regions—prioritize group allegiance over broader civic duties.
Political scientist Ahmed Samatar, a professor at Macalester College in Saint Paul and founding editor of Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, provided insight into this dynamic during an interview in his campus office. 'The historic Somali society is a kind of Janus-faced society,' Samatar said. 'On one side there is the intimacy of the local community, the family subgroup and kin group. Here there is mutuality and responsibility and respect… But the civic culture was not part of that tradition.' According to Berenson's reporting, this duality fosters strong intra-clan bonds but can hinder integration into Western systems emphasizing individual rights and the rule of law.
The Somali diaspora in Minnesota traces back to the U.S. government's resettlement efforts following decades of civil war in Somalia, which began in the early 1990s. By the 2010s, thousands of Somali families had been placed in the state, particularly in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, drawn by job opportunities and established networks. Berenson noted that while many individuals adapted successfully, the mass arrival allowed tribal structures to persist, creating what the County Highway report called a 'wall' separating the community from broader Minnesotan society. This isolation, the report suggested, enabled fraud to proliferate unchecked, with clan leaders allegedly coordinating schemes without fear of internal betrayal—a phenomenon Berenson termed 'the solidarity of thieves.'
Federal responses have intensified amid the revelations. The Department of Homeland Security announced reviews of citizenship applications from Somalia and other high-risk nations for possible fraud, as reported in related coverage. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent deployed personnel to Minnesota to probe the schemes, turning up evidence of what officials described as sprawling operations. A former prosecutor involved in similar cases told Fox News that the Minnesota fraud was 'shockingly easy' to execute and likely worse than initially reported, with estimates climbing as high as $9 billion in potential losses—a figure that could jeopardize the state's federal funding.
Not all perspectives align on the scandal's causes or scope. A New York Times writer argued that Somali Minnesotans are being 'scapegoated' in the investigation, suggesting the fraud narrative unfairly targets an immigrant community already facing prejudice. Berenson countered this view, insisting the issue stems not from individual malice but from cultural incompatibilities when large groups from tribal societies are resettled without sufficient integration measures. He pointed to similar patterns in Europe, where Syrian and Afghan refugees have led to crises involving violence, particularly among young single men resettled in large numbers over the past decade.
Beyond Minnesota, whistleblowers have raised alarms about comparable fraud in other states with Somali populations. One report highlighted potential schemes in Ohio's Somali community, describing Minnesota as 'just the tip of the spear.' In New York, Berenson referenced a worse Medicaid grift, suggesting the problem extends nationwide. Critics like Liz Peek, in a Fox News column, blamed Democratic policies for enabling welfare fraud everywhere by prioritizing access over oversight, exposing what she called an 'indifference to the needy.'
The scandal has political ramifications, with Senate pressure mounting on Minnesota officials as the investigation unfolds. Media coverage has been accused of complicity in downplaying the crisis, with federal sources telling Fox News that outlets have 'shown their true colors' by underreporting the extent. Loeffler, in another opinion piece, described a 'vast network of Somali nonprofits' that 'ripped off Minnesota’s welfare state,' emphasizing the role of loosely regulated organizations in the fraud.
Looking back, Berenson tied the events to broader immigration trends. The post-1965 wave of immigration to the U.S., he argued, has effectively ended under President Donald Trump's policies, which reduced illegal entries nearly to zero through enforceable border measures. This shift, Berenson wrote, disproves claims that America cannot secure its borders, and he predicted Democrats would avoid advocating for mass unskilled migration in upcoming election cycles. However, he cautioned that future openness to immigration—perhaps in a decade or generation—must heed lessons from cases like Minnesota's, avoiding the resettlement of large groups from tribal societies that might recreate fragmented allegiances on U.S. soil.
As investigations continue, the fallout in Minnesota could widen, affecting not just federal funding but public trust in resettlement programs. Community leaders have called for nuance, stressing that not every Somali-American is implicated and that many contribute positively to the state. Officials said the probes aim to recover funds and strengthen safeguards, but the scandal has already sparked debates on immigration policy, cultural integration, and the balance between compassion and accountability in America's diverse society.
In Saint Paul and beyond, the story of Minnesota's Somali fraud scandal serves as a stark reminder of the challenges in bridging worlds—from the clan-based equilibria of Somalia's 2,000-mile coastline to the rule-of-law ideals of the Midwest. With billions at stake and lives intertwined, the coming months will reveal whether reforms can prevent similar crises or if deeper societal shifts are needed.