DOJ to announce "major law enforcement action involving fraud" in Minnesota on Thursday
The U.S. Department of Justice and other federal officials will announce a "major law enforcement action involving fraud" in the state on Thursday.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be there, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz and more.
How to watch DOJ's announcement on fraud
- What: Federal officials announce a "major law enforcement action involving fraud" in Minnesota.
- Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
- Time: 11 a.m.
- Online stream: Live on CBS News Minnesota in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device, or on YouTube.
The Trump administration has deferred hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota within the last year, citing fraud.
Late last year, a viral social media video by YouTuber Nick Shirley — which was amplified by Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance and former Attorney General Pam Bondi — pushed the fraud story into the center of the national conversation, stoking a scandal that has been brewing in state politics for years.
In the wake of the video, the Trump administration announced it is pausing federal funding to child care in Minnesota, with President Trump calling Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity."
While Shirley's video focused on allegations of fraud in daycares in Minneapolis, federal investigators told CBS News childcare is only "vaguely" a priority for prosecutors, and attention and resources are instead focused on more than a dozen other social services programs in Minnesota, including nutrition, housing and behavioral health.
Federal prosecutors have estimated the fraud scandal in Minnesota could top $9 billion, a figure that has been disputed by Gov. Tim Walz.
Walz has defended his handling of the crisis, saying his administration has "spent years cracking down on fraudsters" and has accused Mr. Trump of "politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans."
This story will be updated.
