Patel pointed to numerous indictments and convictions handed down last month against individuals involved with Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota-based organization that stole $250 million worth of federal funds meant for vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Department of Justice, the money was not used for children’s meals but instead to fund the organization’s leaders’ “lavish lifestyles.” Some funds were also reportedly funneled to the Somali-based al Shabaab terrorist group.

Patel said that scheme is “just the tip of a very large iceberg,” vowing to “continue to follow the money and protect children.”

“Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide,” he added.

Other alleged fraud schemes have since been uncovered, including by independent journalist Nick Shirley.

In a video that has been widely shared, including by lawmakers, Shirley is repeatedly stonewalled by workers at multiple supposed Minnesota daycare centers, which reportedly have no enrolled children.

The reporting caught the eye of Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), who blasted Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for allegedly turning a blind eye to the fraud.

“Tim Walz sat idly by while billions were stolen from hardworking Minnesotans. What Walz refused to address for SEVEN YEARS, Nick Shirley uncovered in ONE DAY. The fraud in Minnesota is so brazen and so vast that it’s IMPOSSIBLE Walz’s administration didn’t know about it,” he posted on X over the weekend.

Walz has been pushing back on such accusations, saying he would instead “welcome more” Somali immigrants into Minnesota amid the fraud scandal. His office said on Sunday that Walz has “worked for years to crack down on fraud” and has since “strengthened oversight” of these organizations.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT WANTS ANSWERS ON MINNESOTA SOMALI FRAUD SCHEME

Scrutiny has also turned to another Minnesota Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), after reporting revealed her husband’s venture capital firm, Rose Lake Capital, removed the names of its top officers amid questions about the couple’s finances and the separate Minnesota fraud scandal. None of those officers were charged with fraud, and Omar, who is Somali American, has denied any personal connection to the separate scandal.

But questions have been raised about her most recent financial disclosure from May, which shows her net worth jumped a staggering 3500% from the previous year to some $30 million. Most of that valuation is tied up in Rose Lake Capital assets.