政策研究员呼吁暂停90天新临时执照审批，过去一年新增364家机构
2026年8月29日美国东部时间凌晨5:00 / 福克斯新闻
作者：安德鲁·马克·米勒
福克斯新闻数字频道采访了美国实验中心政策研究员比尔·格拉恩，他警告称明尼苏达州民选官员并未采取足够措施阻止欺诈行为持续蔓延。
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尽管明尼苏达州的欺诈丑闻已升级为全国性事件，让纳税人损失数十亿美元，但越来越多人担忧该州仍未采取必要措施根除这一问题。
“我们并未放缓脚步，明尼苏达州的欺诈行为丝毫没有得到遏制，”美国实验中心政策研究员比尔·格拉恩在接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时表示。
格拉恩此前一直在社交媒体上警告称，明尼苏达州临时辅助生活执照的快速增长——其中大部分面向小型机构——可能超出了州政府的监管能力。在最近一篇文章中，格拉恩指出，该州的执照数据库显示，过去一年新增了364家持有临时执照的机构，并呼吁暂停90天新执照审批，以便官员展开调查。
“全州目前约有2500家这类持证机构，其中约20%，也就是大约340家，是在过去一年新开办的，”格拉恩解释道。
最新沃尔兹欺诈报告痛批“容忍文化”，明尼苏达纳税人面临数十亿美元 alleged损失
明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹于2026年3月4日在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦众议院监督与改革委员会听证会上作证。此次听证会旨在调查明尼苏达州社会服务和医疗补助项目涉嫌滥用联邦资金的问题。（安娜·莫尼梅克/盖蒂图片社）
“我不确定人口结构变化或对这类机构的需求是否是真正的 underlying driver，但奇怪的是，这些与医疗补助欺诈有关的辅助生活设施不断涌现，与此同时明尼苏达州卫生部门每天都在批准一家以上的新机构。一年365天，每天都有超过一家新机构获批。我认为没人真正思考过：嘿，也许其中有些并不光明正大。”
格拉恩还援引了明尼苏达州总检察长基思·埃利森办公室最近对萨尔曼·艾哈迈德·埃尔米提起的刑事诉讼作为欺诈仍在发生的证据。埃尔米于8月17日被指控犯有八项与涉嫌医疗补助账单欺诈有关的重罪。
这份刑事起诉书还详细披露了这些接受医疗补助资助的企业、此前被用于提供商业性服务的场所，以及调查人员所称属于性贩运组织成员之间的关联。
总统竞选失败者在欺诈丑闻余波中赢得中西部州长民主党初选
“这是双重丑闻，”格拉恩说。“你会发现，后来作为医疗补助项目下的辅助生活设施获得执照的场所，原本竟是商业性交易场所，也就是实际的妓院。”
埃尔米此前曾被该州授予“杰出难民”奖项。
“仅埃尔米一案就表明，这早已不是旧闻，”格拉恩说。“这类欺诈行为就在几个月前还在发生。”
格拉恩认为，最新的指控暴露了州政府机构在审核服务提供商和监管纳税人资助项目方面存在更深层次的问题，而这些问题从未得到妥善解决。
“人事即政策，”格拉恩说。“沃尔兹政府没有监管思维。也没有‘信任但要核实’的理念。”
尽管自欺诈丑闻升级为全国性事件以来，明尼苏达州官员和议员已采取了一些防欺诈措施，但格拉恩强调，这些改革并未触及他认为的核心问题：未能及早识别欺诈计划的相关人员未承担任何责任。
“沃尔兹从未进行过整顿，他从未因未能发现欺诈或起诉欺诈行为而解雇任何人，”格拉恩说。“还是那些人在做着同样的事，这种文化从未改变。”
在格拉恩看来，宣传工作应从高层启动。
“他们仍在按部就班地运作，”格拉恩说。“目前在任的官员，至少是行政部门的负责人，没有任何人采取任何实质性措施来应对欺诈问题。令人惊讶的是，我们每天都能看到这类报道，而蒂姆·沃尔兹却在全国乃至其他地方奔走。他已经是跛脚鸭州长了，似乎丝毫没有兴趣在欺诈问题上取得任何成果，以此为自己的任期画上圆满的句号。”
沃尔兹家乡爆发百万美元SNAP食品券欺诈丑闻引发众怒：“残忍的笑话”
明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹于2026年3月4日在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦众议院监督与改革委员会听证会上作证。该委员会此次听证会旨在调查明尼苏达州社会服务和医疗补助项目涉嫌滥用联邦资金的问题。（盖蒂图片社）
除了公众认为该丑闻未得到足够问责外，沃尔兹的副州长佩吉·弗拉纳根正在参选参议员，而明尼苏达州参议员艾米·克洛布查尔也在竞选州长，两人在欺诈丑闻发酵期间都身居要职。
“艾米·克洛布查尔已经公布了她的多点计划，阐述了如果在11月当选，她将如何打击欺诈，”格拉恩解释道。“我不知道我们为什么不能现在就推行这些措施。她呼吁对州政府进行全面审计。她还提出了一些此前未获通过的立法提案相关的其他数据点。蒂姆·沃尔兹可以召集特别会议。我们周一就能开会，通过一项反欺诈议程，但现在什么都没有。所以我猜他根本就对这个话题不感兴趣。”
福克斯新闻数字频道已联系沃尔兹办公室、克洛布查尔的竞选团队以及明尼苏达州卫生部门征求评论，但未收到回复。
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明尼苏达州参议员艾米·克洛布查尔（民主党-明尼苏达）于2025年11月1日在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶会议中心举行的支持50号提案集会上发表讲话。50号提案是11月4日特别选举中的国会选区重新划分法案。（戴维·斯旺森/路透社）
明尼苏达州人类服务部在一份声明中告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，自2024年秋季以来，该部门已推出一系列反欺诈改革措施，包括确定14项高风险服务，并暂停新服务商加入这些项目的注册。该机构还表示，已终止住房稳定服务项目，开始通过实地审核对自闭症服务提供商进行审计，为自闭症中心制定了执照要求，并取消了不活跃提供商的注册资格。
人类服务部表示，还扩大了对13个高风险按服务收费项目提供商的预付审核，并在5月底前完成了高风险提供商的重新认定程序。该部门称，自2025年初以来，已停止向747名被认定存在可信欺诈指控的医疗补助提供商支付款项，并向执法部门提交了824份转诊申请。
安德鲁·马克·米勒是福克斯新闻记者。可在推特@andymarkmiller上关注他，或发送爆料邮件至AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com。
‘We have not slowed down’: Minnesota not out of the woods on massive fraud scandal, expert warns
Policy fellow calls for 90-day moratorium on new provisional licenses as 364 facilities opened in the past year
August 29, 2026 5:00am EDT / Fox News
By Andrew Mark Miller
Fox News Digital spoke to Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Bill Glahn who warned that elected officials in Minnesota haven’t done enough to stop fraud from continuing.
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Despite Minnesota’s fraud scandal exploding onto the national scene and costing taxpayers billions, there are growing concerns that the state has still not done what’s necessary to root out the problem.
“We have not slowed down, there is no sense in which the fraud has been stopped in Minnesota,” Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, told Fox News Digital.
Glahn has been warning on social media that Minnesota’s rapid growth in provisional assisted-living licenses, most for small facilities, may be outpacing state oversight. In a recent article, Glahn explained the state’s licensing database showed 364 new facilities with provisional licenses popping up over the past year and called for a 90-day moratorium on new licenses while officials investigate.
“We have something along the order of 2,500 of these licensed across the state, but about 20% of them, around three, 400 of them have just been started in the last year,” Glahn explained.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. The hearing examined alleged misuse of federal funds for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I’m not sure if there’s a real underlying driver in the demographics or the demand for these facilities, but it’s odd that we have these assisted living facilities linked to Medicaid fraud, at the same time, the Minnesota Department of Health is approving more than one a day. More than one new facility gets approved every single day, 365 days a year. And I don’t think anybody is really giving any thought to, hey, maybe some of this is not on the up and up.”
Glahn also pointed to a recent criminal complaint filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office against Salman Ahmed Elmi, who was charged Aug. 17 with eight felony theft offenses tied to alleged Medicaid billing fraud, as evidence that fraud is still taking place.
The criminal complaint also details alleged ties among the Medicaid-funded businesses, properties previously used to provide commercial sex services and people investigators say were part of a sex-trafficking organization.
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“This is two scandals in one,” Glahn said. “You have a commercial sex operation, actual brothels, housed in what were later licensed as assisted-living facilities under the Medicaid program.”
Elmi previously received an award from the state for being an “Outstanding Refugee.”
“Elmi’s case alone makes clear that this is not old news,” Glahn said. “This particular fraud was going on just a couple of months ago.”
Glahn argued that the latest allegations point to a deeper problem within the state agencies responsible for vetting providers and monitoring taxpayer-funded programs which haven’t been properly addressed.
“Personnel is policy,” Glahn said. “There isn’t a regulatory mindset under the Walz administration. There isn’t the mindset that we need to trust but verify.”
While Minnesota officials and lawmakers have taken some fraud-prevention steps since the fraud scandal erupted onto the national scene, Glahn stressed that the reforms do not address what he sees as the central issue: a lack of accountability for those who failed to identify the schemes earlier
“Walz has never cleaned house, he’s never fired anybody for not detecting the fraud or not prosecuting the fraud,” Glahn said. “It’s the same people doing the same thing, and that culture has never changed.”
For Glahn, the messaging should start at the top.
“They’re just operating as business as usual,” Glahn said. “We don’t have anybody who’s currently in office, currently in charge of state government, at least in the executive branch, who’s doing anything substantive to address the fraud. It’s just amazing how we see these reports every day, and we have Tim Walz traveling the country, traveling elsewhere. He’s a lame duck. He doesn’t seem to have any interest in closing out this chapter of his legacy with any kind of victory on the fraud front.”
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. The committee held the hearing to examine the alleged misuse of federal funds intended for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs.(Getty Images)
In addition to the perception that not enough accountability has been taken for the scandal, Walz’s Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for Senate while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is running for governor despite both being in positions of power during the duration of time the fraud scandal festered.
“Amy Klobuchar has come out with her multi-point plan of how she’s gonna fight fraud once she gets in office, if she gets elected in November,” Glahn explained. “I don’t know why we couldn’t implement this stuff today. She’s called for a top-to-bottom audit of state government. She’s got another few data points that perhaps were legislative proposals that didn’t get passed. Tim Walz could call a special session. We could be in session on Monday, passing an anti-fraud agenda, but there’s nothing. So I guess he just fundamentally doesn’t have an interest in the subject.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office, Klobuchar’s campaign and the Minnesota Department of Health for comment but did not receive a response.
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) speaks during a rally in support of a “Yes” vote on Proposition 50, a congressional redistricting measure in the November 4 special election, at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, on November 1, 2025.(David Swanson/REUTERS)
The Minnesota Department of Human Services told Fox News Digital in a statement that it has rolled out a series of anti-fraud reforms since the fall of 2024, including identifying 14 high-risk services and freezing the enrollment of new providers in those programs. The agency also said it discontinued the Housing Stabilization Services program, began auditing autism-service providers through onsite visits, instituted licensure requirements for autism centers and disenrolled inactive providers.
DHS said it has also expanded pre-payment reviews for providers in 13 high-risk fee-for-service programs and completed revalidation determinations for high-risk providers by the end of May. Since the beginning of 2025, the department said it has stopped payments to 747 Medicaid providers over what it described as credible allegations of fraud and made 824 referrals to law enforcement.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.