White House highlights fraud crackdown efforts

Thanks for joining us here at six. I'm Karen Scullin. Three top Trump administration officials came to Minnesota today to highlight the fight against fraud. They put Minnesota right in the center of the fight, but their calculations may be missing the mark a bit. Fox nine's Corin Hoggard went to St. Cloud where the feds held their press conference this afternoon. 17 search warrants served on Thursday, four targets, and new federal charges alleging $41 million in fraud at autism centers, half of which was alleged at Smart Therapy, the autism center whose owner was the first defendant charged with autism fraud. Our nation's war on fraud started right here in Minnesota. It's not an issue to be proud about. It's just a reality. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has frozen about $550 million in federal Medicaid assistance to Minnesota this year based on suspected criminal activity. This week, Senate Democrats accused the administration of only targeting blue states with its enforcement. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the guardrails are loosest in states run by Democrats. I would say that we are at ground zero per capita, given the population of Minnesota and this fraud that we've seen. In court cases, prosecutors have alleged a total of almost $550 million in fraud committed in Minnesota. That's around $94 for every resident of the state. In Florida, they've alleged more than $14.6 billion in fraud. That's more than $622 per capita, significantly more than in Minnesota. But in the days before an election, where the fight against fraud is among the top concerns of voters, the Treasury Secretary, the CMS Administrator, and the FBI Director came to Minnesota with a message for fraudsters. This FBI will continue to follow the money. We will continue to work with our interagency partners, and we will put every last one of you in prison. It's not exactly clear why they picked St. Cloud for their announcement today. All of the activity yesterday related to fraud and the charges that came out today were related to businesses in Edina and St. Louis Park. But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US Attorney invited them here to St. Cloud, and that's why they chose this location to highlight their fight against fraud. In St. Cloud, Corin Hoggard, Fox 9.