ST PAUL, Minn. — The massive $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme has been in the headlines for months, notable not only for the money involved but for the brazenness of the alleged defendants in their conduct and use of the federal funds they allegedly stole.
And now comes a deep-dive audit taking the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to task for inadequate oversight that the Office of the Legislative Auditor says allowed the scheme to unfold in the first place.
In an expansive 103-page report released Thursday, the Office of the Legislative Auditor says poor oversight of the federally-funded Feeding Our Future program during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities for fraud. Furthermore, the audit maintains MDE failed to act on warning signs known to the department before the pandemic happened, and "did not effectively exercise its authority to hold Feeding Our Future accountable to program requirements."
Among the responsibilities auditors said MDE did not fulfill, according to the audit, were:
- Providing guidance and training to FOF staff
- Recognizing warning signs both before and during the COVID pandemic
- Effectively investigating complaints about Feeding Our Future despite their frequency or seriousness
- Terminating FOF's participation in the federally-funded meal and snack program when warranted.
In response to the audit, Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett II disputed the allegations that MDE's oversight of the feeding program was inadequate. Jett insists the department met all applicable program standards and contacted law enforcement appropriately.
“What happened with Feeding Our Future was a travesty – a coordinated, brazen abuse of nutrition programs that exist to ensure access to healthy meals for low-income children," Jett said. "The responsibility for this flagrant fraud lies with the indicted and convicted fraudsters.”
Minnesota Republicans, who have hammered the Walz administration and its commissioners for the Feeding Our Future debacle, did not hold back after reading the auditor's report.
“This was something that they should have been picking up on. They had the authority to do so, but they didn’t do that. This is stunning," said GOP Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson of East Grand Forks at a news conference Thursday. "The Department of Education and Gov. Walz have repeatedly tried to tell the public that they did all they could ... but this report clearly demonstrates that was a false narrative.”
Seventy people have been charged in federal court for their alleged roles in a scheme prosecutors say centered on a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. Five of the first seven defendants to stand trial were convicted Friday. The trial gained widespread attention after someone tried to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash the night before the case went to the jury. Authorities are still trying to determine the source of that money.
Eighteen other defendants have already pleaded guilty. Trials are still pending for the others.
KARE 11's Lou Raguse has covered the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme extensively since the scandal broke.
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