Report Says Groundwork For Fraud in Minnesota Human Services Goes Back 50 Years

(Photo by Alyssa Chen/Minnesota Reformer)

(Minnesota Reformer) – A report published by an appointee of Gov. Tim Walz to oversee program integrity  found that state agencies have been repeatedly warned about vulnerabilities in state-run social services going back to at least the 1970s.

Tim O’Malley, who was designated the state’s Director of Program Integrity in December, said in a press briefing that the state has “long-standing vulnerabilities” that people have used to defraud state programs.

The 57-page report, titled “Roadmap to Program Integrity and Fraud Prevention,” includes a long list of recommendations, including for a “skilled independent monitor” who has “subject matter expertise and the requisite gravitas to drive home accountability.”

O’Malley, a veteran of the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, didn’t explicitly answer a question about whether the monitor should be appointed by the governor, though he said that being appointed by Walz hasn’t influenced his own work. A legislative effort to establish an independent Office of Inspector General got broad bipartisan support in the Minnesota Senate in the 2025 legislative session, stalled in the House but has now been revived this year.