The House Oversight Committee released a report Wednesday morning alleging Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison covered up massive fraud in the state.
The report was released just hours before Walz and Ellison began their testimony before the committee.
Republicans on the committee launched an investigation into Walz’s handling of a series of multimillion-dollar fraud schemes in Minnesota last December.
While the investigation is still ongoing, Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, says testimony and documents obtained by the committee show Walz and Ellison “lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns.”
“Instead of protecting vulnerable Americans, they handed over billions in taxpayer dollars to fraudsters and threw their own state employees under the bus,” Comer said.
The report claims both Walz and Ellison’s…
Investment fraud targets the human desire for financial growth by promising high returns with “low to no risk.”
- Ponzi Schemes: Named after Charles Ponzi, these schemes pay “returns” to earlier investors using the capital brought in by newer investors. There is no actual underlying business; the system collapses when new recruitment slows down.
- Pyramid Schemes: Similar to Ponzi schemes, but participants are usually required to sell a product or service. The primary “profit” comes from the recruitment fees of new members rather than actual product sales.
- Pump and Dump: Fraudsters spread false, positive rumors about a cheap stock (the “pump”) to drive up the price. Once the price peaks, they sell their shares (the “dump”), leaving other investors with worthless stock.