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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   10045 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 24, 2025

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I want to briefly talk about the massive Somali fraud network in Minnesota. UPDATE adding a more reputable source. Apparently Somalis have committed welfare fraud at least half a billion, maybe more, over the last couple decades. Much of it going home to Somalia to fund terrorist groups.

The surprising thing, looking into it, is that this seems to have been a bit of an open secret? Independent journalists were reporting on it for a while, and nobody seemed to care.

I think this story represents an overall change in the cultural climate, where this sort of information is finally becoming more popular to discuss. I'm reminded of the Rotherham scandal in the U.K. as well. Where there has been a major scandal involving mostly minority/immigrant groups that was covered up or just not really discussed, due to the Problematic nature.

I'm curious if this trend will continue moving forward, and we can perhaps have a more honest conversation about immigration and assimilation? We'll see...

Welfare fraud is rampant in the US. Given the scope of IRS's surveillance, welfare fraud looks like an intended loophole rather than a egregious crime.

How does welfare fraud work ? My understanding is:

  1. Minor fraud - Household composition misreporting. IMO, this is called smart accounting when done by billionaires. A person would have to be making just slightly over the limit for welfare, to massage their house hold composition to fit into welfare limits. That's okay.
  2. Major fraud - Not reporting income. This has been a major issue even outside welfare fraud. If the IRS truly cared, then tips, employment and gig-economy work would be more strictly surveilled. It would be trivial to implement from a technical perspective. Definitely an intended loophole, similar to illegal workers employed by farms and hospitality businesses around America, much to my chagrin.

I followed links in the article, and the sources are weird.

The first link points to a Pandemic relief fund scandal.

$250 million in pandemic relief funds. Aimee Bock, the 44-year-old founder of Feeding our Future, was found guilty on federal charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy for recruiting a network of people and organizations to operate as many as 250 fraudulent meal assistance sites throughout the state

The primary culprit is a white lady who used pandemic relief funds to fraudulently route money to for-profit restaurants and live a lavish lifestyle.

Abdullahe Nur Jesow had become the 56th defendant to plead guilty in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

Based on another link (which I had to chase down separately), there are many Somali secondary defendants, but the primary perpetrator was a white woman.

The 2nd link points to election integrity concerns. Nothing to do with fraud.

Republican Minn. gov candidate blasts Tim Walz on election integrity: ‘fraud capital of the country’

Finally, the 3rd link gives us something useful

The HSS program paid $104 million in 2024. On August 1, Minnesota’s Department of Human Services moved to scrap the HSS program, noting that payment to 77 housing-stabilization providers had been terminated this year due to “credible allegations of fraud.” Joe Thompson, then the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, went even further, stating that the “vast majority” of the HSS program was fraudulent.

On September 18, Thompson announced criminal indictments for six members of Minnesota’s Somali community.

Ok, finally, we're onto something.

Somalis have committed welfare fraud at least half a billion, maybe more, over the last couple decades. Much of it going home to Somalia to fund terrorist groups.

I believe your claim has validity, but all the linked articles take many leaps of logic and rounding of numbers to reach this specific conclusions.

Yes, on the balance, around half a billion in funds were used in programs that had fraud. It is not clear than 100% of those funds were fraudulently used. It is not clear that 100% of the fraudulently used funds were used by Somalis. It is not clear that 100% of the Somalian fraud had to do with sending money back to Somalia. It is not clear that 100% of the money sent back to Somalia was sent to terrorists.

If you 50% at each step, it is still many millions being sent to Somalian terrorists. I also agree with your wider point, that integration of ghettoized tribal societies should not be taken for granted. But, the eventual sum sent to Somali terrorists is likely less than $100 million.

In cases like this, I'd prefer if we shared the more reputed sources (City Journal) instead of rage-baiting sources like NY Post which add nothing to the original [City Journal] sources.

Thanks for the thoughts and the link, updated the OP.

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