Investigators will likely be able to quickly trace any misdirected public money tied to an alleged Minnesota fraud scheme, retired Border Patrol agent and sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland said on Newsmax Sunday, while warning that failures by state leadership to detect or stop wrongdoing could put Americans at risk.
"So much money that’s poured into communities through various programs from the federal level, state level, and even local level, we lose track of it," Cleveland told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend."
Still, he said, following the money should not be especially difficult, given modern tools.
"In this day and age, with the use of technology and the tracking of funds, I think we’ll be able to get down to the bottom of it pretty quickly," he said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that the government will be investigating whether $1 billion in taxpayer funds in Minnesota was directed to the terrorist group al-Shabaab.
Cleveland said he was "shocked" by the allegation but "not surprised."
Cleveland also suggested the investigation could expose accountability issues for elected officials and other leaders.
He said it would be "a shame" if officials in Minnesota or other states had some level of awareness or permitted the alleged activity to continue.
"It definitely puts us behind the eight ball and puts American lives at risk," said Cleveland.
The discussion turned to how public officials respond to fraud investigations, with the panel airing a clip of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz saying he takes responsibility for "putting people in jail" and warning against "demonizing an entire community on the actions of a few."
Cleveland did not directly address Walz’s remarks in his comments, but he linked the alleged fraud to broader concerns about border enforcement and immigration policy.
Responding to a separate question about immigration and government benefits, he said lax policies can create vulnerabilities.
"We’ve seen it down here on the U.S.-Mexico border," Cleveland said, pointing to his 26 years in the Border Patrol.
"That’s why we have the U.S. Border Patrol, to protect our borders," he said.
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