MINNEAPOLIS — Why did it take almost two years for government officials to shut down Feeding Our Future and cut off payments to individuals now accused of orchestrating the nation’s largest pandemic fraud?
That question has become a topic of intense political debate since federal prosecutors charged dozens of people last month, accusing them of robbing a federal meals program of $250 million. Republicans running against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have sought to blame them for being slow to respond to the scandal.
Walz, Ellison and state education officials said they did everything they could, from unsuccessfully trying to shut down Feeding Our Future to alerting federal authorities about their suspicions of wrongdoing when those efforts faltered in early 2021. U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger and other federal authorities praised state officials for collaborating on a successful investigation.
But in statements to the Star Tribune this week, Ellison’s office pointed the finger at federal authorities for taking 17 months to issue indictments. The federal investigation began April 2021 with a tip from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
“Ultimately, only federal law-enforcement authorities can answer why it took them 9-10 months from the time they accepted referral of the case from MDE to execute search…
