Feds Raid Minneapolis Childcare, Autism Providers

Federal agents executed 22 search warrants across the Twin Cities on Tuesday, hitting child care centers and autism service providers in a widening Minnesota fraud investigation. (abcnews.com) (mprnews.org) The Justice Department said the FBI was conducting court-authorized activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation. Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and local agencies also took part. (abcnews.com) (fox9.com) Minnesota Department of Human Services said the searched sites included autism providers that received Medicaid payments. MPR reported agents were seen at The Original Childcare Center in south Minneapolis, and ABC published an Associated Press photo from Mako Child Care Center. (minnesotareformer.com) (mprnews.org) (abcnews.com) FOX 9 reported that Quality Learning Center, a Minneapolis day care that had drawn scrutiny after a viral video and had reportedly closed in January, was among the raided sites. No arrests were announced Tuesday. (fox9.com) (usatoday.com) The searches land in a state that has spent three years dealing with massive fraud cases in publicly funded programs. The biggest, Feeding Our Future, produced more than $250 million in alleged theft from child nutrition programs, and nearly 65 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted, according to the Justice Department. (abcnews.com) The autism-provider side of the case has been building since 2024. Minnesota Reformer reported that federal prosecutors charged the first person in that investigation in September, and the Walz administration later labeled 14 Medicaid services “high risk” and added new checks on providers. (minnesotareformer.com) (mn.gov) State officials used Tuesday’s operation to stress cooperation with Washington after months of political fighting over fraud oversight. Gov. Tim Walz said, “If you commit fraud in Minnesota you’re going to get caught,” while the Department of Children, Youth, and Families said state, county and federal agencies were working together to “root out fraud.” (minnesotareformer.com) (content.govdelivery.com) That cooperation follows a January clash over federal allegations that Minnesota and four other Democratic-led states had fraudulent child-care programs. ABC reported the Trump administration froze $10 billion in funding before a federal judge blocked the freeze. (abcnews.com) The raids also hit a sector families rely on every day. Minnesota has said spending in 14 Medicaid programs it now considers vulnerable to fraud more than doubled in five years, from $2.06 billion to $5.44 billion, while providers and families have argued that at least part of that growth reflects real demand for disability and autism services. (newsfromthestates.com) (minnesotareformer.com) For now, investigators have described Tuesday’s action as evidence-gathering, not charges. The next test is whether prosecutors can turn 22 searches at child care and autism providers into cases that hold up in court. (abcnews.com) (mprnews.org)