Republican Minnesota AG candidate Ron Schutz challenges Keith Ellison on fraud convictions

Recent polls show that for the first time in 60 years, Minnesota may elect a Republican as its attorney general.

Attorney Ron Schutz is facing off against current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

For 39 years, Schutz was an attorney and partner in the national law firm Robins Kaplan. One of his top issues in the attorney general's race is fighting fraud. 

Ellison's Medicaid unit has won 340 Medicaid fraud convictions in seven years. Just last week, Ellison won an $18.5 million settlement against a Minnesota firm, Partners in Nutrition, but Schutz says that is not enough and points to the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud. 

Schutz challenges that there were any convictions

"With stays of adjudication, there is no conviction; there are 214 of those cases that they looked at where there was no conviction," Schutz said.

A spokesperson for Ellison disputed Shultz's claim there were no convictions under Ellison's watch for Medicaid fraud.

Ellison has joined other Democratic attorneys general in suing the Trump administration more than 73 times. He estimates his lawsuits have kept more than $7.3 billion in federal money flowing to Minnesota, money that the president had cut. In 45 cases, Ellison says he had 90% wins or preliminary injunctions; he has lost six and 20 suits are ongoing. Schutz is still critical.

"I have questions about the lawsuits that every Minnesotan should be asking, which is why does the California attorney general tell Keith Ellison, 'Hop on board this lawsuit that we are going to Rhode Island.' These cases are not filed here," Schutz said.

Republicans used this tool also. Ballotpedia says Republican attorneys general sued the Biden administration 133 times when Joe Biden was president.

Schutz says one of his main goals is to make the attorney general's office a bigger player in criminal cases statewide. 

The office under Ellison has led high-profile prosecutions, including the criminal trial of Derek Chauvin and the 2022 Zaria McKeever murder case. Gov. Tim Walz removed the McKeever case from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty because Moriarty wanted to prosecute the shooter in juvenile court.

Ellison is set to appear on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 3.

You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.