Minnesota officials are facing scrutiny after a report indicated [1] that welfare fraud involving members of the state’s Somali community funneled taxpayer money to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.
City Journal reported the findings, citing law enforcement sources who said “untold millions” of dollars from Minnesota programs were transferred overseas.
BREAKING: A massive scandal is erupting in Minnesota as Somalians in the state artificially surged their rates of autism to fraudulently gain Medicaid funding…
…and then sent the money to terror organization al-Shabaab.
Tim Walz’s Minnesota has MASSIVE problems.
To the… pic.twitter.com/hmxbBlsacU [2]
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 20, 2025 [3]
According to the report, state funds, including money from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), were allegedly routed through individuals in Minnesota and moved abroad.
The outlet reported that the funds passed through “hawalas,” clan-based money transfer networks, before being laundered to Al-Shabaab.
The group, affiliated with Al Qaeda, has carried out attacks that have killed Americans, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
City Journal quoted an unnamed source with past counterterrorism contracting experience who stated, “This is a third-rail conversation, but the largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.”
The report did not specify dates, the length of time the transfers occurred, or the individual DHS programs where the money originated.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s administration has come under additional scrutiny following separate federal investigations into fraud within a DHS program intended to help Minnesotans obtain taxpayer-funded housing.
That program, Housing Stabilization Services, was shut down on October 31 “due to widespread fraud,” City Journal reported.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told the outlet that six of the eight people federally charged in connection with fraud in the Housing Stabilization Services program are of Somali descent.
The charges were part of a federal probe examining misuse of funds within the program.
In November 2024, an Al-Shabaab operative was found guilty of plotting a 9/11-style airline attack in the United States.
In a case investigated by the #FBINewYork [4] Joint Terrorism Task Force, Cholo Abdi Abdullah was convicted on Monday in the Southern District of New York for conspiring to commit a 9/11-style attack At the direction of Al Shabaab. https://t.co/NL9ADjWQHs [5]
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) November 9, 2024 [6]
The group has conducted numerous attacks internationally and is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
The article did not indicate which Minnesota programs were the primary source of the funds or the total amount of money believed to have been transferred overseas.
City Journal’s reporting noted that the use of hawalas played a central role in the movement of money overseas.
The money transfer method is often used within communities that rely on clan-based financial systems.
According to the report, the transfers were part of the alleged laundering activity connected to the fraud.
Federal investigations into the Housing Stabilization Services program remain ongoing.
The state ended the program after investigators identified extensive fraudulent activity involving individuals who received state reimbursement funds.
Al-Shabaab has been cited by U.S. intelligence agencies as one of the most active Al Qaeda affiliates.
The City Journal report connected the alleged Minnesota-based fraud to the broader financing networks that support the group’s activities.
No further public statements have been issued by Minnesota DHS regarding the report’s claims, and federal authorities have not released any additional information related to the allegations reported by City Journal.