After speaking to whistleblowers across the state, Oz said there has been a "cover-up" for years and that it reaches the "highest levels" of state government.

Oz made reference to Somalian Americans and Somalian nationals who have a significant presence in the Minneapolis-Twin Cities area, who have recently been accused by administration officials of engaging in the defrauding of federal government entitlement programs, including Medicaid.

"For example, the Somalian sub-population, who have different cultural norms than the folks who have historically been in Minnesota, might be taking advantage of systems that were built for 'Minnesota Nice' people," Oz said.

"And this is what was told to me by people working in the Department of Health and Human Services there, from folks who are police, law enforcement, they were witnessing it."

The administration has gained "evidence now that we might be seeing that in other Somalian populations" in the United States, Oz said, adding that "they talk to each other."

"Once you figure out that no one's watching the till, you begin to steal money in other areas," he said. "In any case, we are aggressive on this."

Providing an example, Oz said that investigators in the Twin Cities discovered a building with "boarded-up windows" that allegedly had "400 businesses running out of there in the last couple of years that had generated about three $80 million in bills" for the federal government and Minnesota.

"And these are all social service businesses. So as you start to probe into how this beehive of corruption arose, the question does come up, you know, who owns the building? Like, how did this even come about? The building owner would not let us go into the building," he added.

The state has been under the spotlight for years for Medicaid fraud, including a $300 million COVID-19-related fraud case involving the Feeding Our Future nonprofit.

Federal prosecutors said it was the largest COVID-19-related fraud scheme in the United States, and that the defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program meant to provide food for children.

Since 2022, 57 people have been convicted, either by pleading guilty or by losing at trial. The majority of the defendants who were charged in the case are of Somali origin. Numerous other fraud cases are under investigation, including new allegations involving child care centers.

Aside from the Medicare and Medicaid agencies, the Treasury Department also announced last week that it will investigate financial transactions between Minnesota residents and businesses in Somalia, as the government ramps up an operation targeting illegal immigration in the state.