Feds: Fraud total could top $9 billion

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said yesterday he believes the total amount defrauded from 14 Medicaid programs in Minnesota could surpass $9 billion.

The latest: Thompson made that estimate while announcing charges against five more people he said defrauded the Housing Stabilization Services program that is funded by Medicaid.

By the numbers: So far his office has charged defendants who are accused of around $350 million in fraud, most of it tied to the Feeding our Future school meals scandal.

What they're saying: "What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes," Thompson said at a press conference. "It's a staggering industrial scale fraud. It's swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state."

Of note: Gov. Tim Walz's administration shut down the Housing Stabilization Services Program in October after federal investigators warned it was "extremely vulnerable to fraud."

• "This is exactly the type of strong action we need from prosecutors to ensure fraudsters are put behind bars," Walz said in a statement yesterday. "This infuriating greed and criminal activity is why we took action earlier this year to shut down Housing Stabilization Services and hired an outside firm to audit these programs and stop payments to fraudulent providers."