Chris Serres Star Tribune
May 15, 2018 — 9:57pm
Key lawmaker calls a report of pilfered money going to overseas terrorists "extremely troubling."
Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria listened as Rep. Nick Zerwas, R-Elk River railed against alleged abuse of child-care funds.
Minnesota Republicans said Tuesday they want to crack down on subsidized child-care providers who commit fraud, following a television news report that suggested illegally obtained funds may be going overseas to finance terrorist groups.
State and federal officials said Tuesday that they’ve seen no evidence of a link between Minnesota day-care operators and overseas terrorist groups, but that they welcome any additional resources to investigate fraud against the state’s child-care subsidy program.
The legislation introduced Tuesday would enable the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to close child-care businesses that participate in the program but fail to fully cooperate with investigators. It would also create new criminal and civil penalties for anyone who transferred fraudulently obtained money to countries on the U.S. State Department’s travel ban list.
The legislation, announced abruptly at a news conference, would also direct the state Legislative Auditor to investigate the Child Care Assistance Program, which subsidizes the child-care expenses of about 29,000 low-income children per month.
It’s in response to a Fox 9 news report that said Minnesota refugee families are taking suitcases full of cash on flights from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to countries in Africa and the Middle East where terrorist groups are active.
Thank You Mr. Seres and Star Tribune
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