Minnesota Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins told Newsmax on Tuesday that Gov. Tim Walz had to have known about massive federal fraud that occurred on his watch — pointing to the billions of dollars in losses.
Speaking on "National Report," Robbins, chair of the Fraud Prevention & State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, said while federal prosecutors have aggressively pursued fraud cases, accountability inside the governor's administration has been nonexistent.
A federal prosecutor said last week that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds flowing to 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 have been stolen, calling the scope of the fraud staggering and deeply layered.
"Through the U.S. Attorney's Office, we've had, I believe, 61 convictions and 87 indictments," Robbins said. "So the criminal process is well underway here."
"But we have not seen any criminal referrals or indictments in the administration."
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax earlier Tuesday he expects multiple criminal referrals tied to wrongdoing inside Minnesota state government.
"If that is evidence that the U.S. House Oversight Committee has seen, I hope that they follow up on that," Robbins said.
As a state legislator, Robbins noted her oversight authority is limited, making the administration's inaction even more troubling.
"I don't have access to bank records or health records or the state payment system," she said. "So we have not seen that."
Still, Robbins said the sheer scale and duration of the fraud make it impossible to believe top officials were unaware.
"For this to happen this long — $9 billion in fraud since Gov. Walz took office is the estimate — I don't know how they couldn't have known about it," she said.
Robbins accused Walz of overseeing "rampant fraud" for years while failing to take meaningful action until recently — and only after mounting pressure.
"Tim Walz has been overseeing this rampant fraud for seven years," Robbins said. "He has done nothing to stop it proactively and only very belatedly this fall started having an audit and a paused payment and stopping enrollment of new providers."
She described the governor's response as a failure of leadership.
"He has been derelict in his duties," Robbins said.
Robbins said the Fraud Prevention & State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, formed in January, has worked aggressively to force accountability — along with investigative journalists and federal partners.
"The pressure from the fraud committee, from some local investigative journalists, and from our federal partners is what has finally — very belatedly — brought him to take action," she said.
But Robbins emphasized that even now, Walz has refused to hold anyone in his administration accountable.
"He's not fired anyone," she said.
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials. Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app. Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.