New Minnesota Department of Human Services commissioner named as state deals with fraud fallout

The month of March will be a pivotal one as Minnesota attempts to emerge from the shadow of massive fraud.

The federal government says it is witholding $259 million in Medicaid funding and that the state has 60 days to prove that it has rooted out fraud in existing programs.

This comes at the same time that the temporary commissioner of the state’s Department of Human Services was made the permanent director.

In his State of the Union address, President Trump singled Minnesota out for its fraud scandals, claiming that there had been $19 billion of fraud in Minnesota in recent years. The former Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimated that $9 billion could be fraud. But those numbers have never been verified.  

Shireen Gandhi was just named the permanent commissioner of DHS last week. She says the verified number so far is at least $300 million.

“So there has been about $300 million…

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THE TUTUKA POWER STATION PROCUREMENT FRAUD (ESKOM)

Date: August 29, 2025 Perpetrator: Jessie Phindile Kubheka (Supplier Director)

Case Description: As part of the ongoing “cleaning up” of Eskom, Jessie Phindile Kubheka was sentenced to 12 years (with 5 years suspended) for defrauding the Tutuka Power Station. The case involved a sophisticated procurement syndicate that exploited Eskom’s emergency repair protocols. Kubheka’s company was contracted to deliver three high-specification containers for the power station. Only one container was ever delivered, and even that single unit failed to meet the required safety and technical specifications.

Despite the lack of delivery, Kubheka issued grossly inflated invoices, defrauding the utility of approximately R2.6 million. The Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court ordered Kubheka to repay the full amount. This case is significant because it marks a shift in Eskom’s strategy toward “naming and shaming” suppliers and pursuing full asset recovery. It serves as a stark warning to contractors that the 2026 climate of “Zero Tolerance” for state-owned enterprise (SOE) fraud is backed by active judicial enforcement.

Link to Original: Eskom Official – Tutuka Fraud Sentencing