Midwest

Minnesota fraud whistleblower says ‘lack of guardrails was pretty shocking’

Published

4 weeks ago

January 31, 2026

Minnesota fraud whistleblower says ‘lack of guardrails was pretty shocking’

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A Minnesota woman employed by the state’s Department of Human Services is speaking out against what she describes as incompetence within the department following the discovery of rampant fraud in the state’s healthcare system.

Faye Bernstein told the City Journal in an interview that she first began to realize the high risk of fraud at Minnesota’s DHS in 2018 and 2019 following a promotion to a lead position.

“Over the years, I had often thought that DHS is sloppy,” she said. “But 2018 and 2019 are when I saw, oh gosh, this is beyond normal. If we don’t have fraud today, we’re going to have fraud soon.”

Bernstein has been a DHS employee for two decades, working in contract management and as a compliance officer, she told the outlet. In her lead position, she said she was able to see all the contracts being worked on by those in her division and witnessed conflicts with the contracts that could be deemed risky.

MINNESOTA ‘ON THE CLOCK’ AS HHS THREATENS PENALTIES OVER CHILDCARE FRAUD SCANDAL

The Minnesota Department of Human Services building in St. Paul. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)

“I was aware that our contracting processes were leaving us completely open to fraud,” Bernstein said. “But to realize the lack of guardrails was pretty shocking.”

Federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion was stolen through a network of fraudulent fronts posing as daycare centers, food programs and health clinics. The majority of those charged, so far, in the ongoing investigation are part of Minnesota’s Somali population.

Homeland Security investigators were part of a large fraud investigation last month in Minneapolis following the release of a video alleging daycare fraud. (Department of Homeland Security)

When she tried to report the issues at the time to her deputy director, Bernstein said she was told to stop asking questions. Bernstein said she felt retaliated against after most of her duties were reassigned and was eventually “shuffled from one job to another.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’ AS MORE BLUE STATES FACE SCRUTINY

“Even our human resources people would tell us, ‘If your supervisor tells you to do something, you must do it.’ And when you didn’t, the word ‘insubordination’ came up,” she said. “They considered it insubordinate if you resisted an unlawful direction.”

Bernstein told the outlet that she has been going through emails received beginning in 2024 from members of the public warning about the alleged fraud.

“I was really surprised at how much notification we had,” she told the outlet. “Did we really ignore all those people writing in? Members of the public had advised us of this [alleged fraud] in email after email after email.”

TRUMP ADMIN PUTS MINNESOTA ON NOTICE, MOVES TO AUDIT MEDICAID AND CLAW BACK FUNDS TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

The state’s DHS on Friday said that recently released federal data shows Minnesota’s Medicaid program has a significantly lower improper payment rate than the national average, with an error rate of just over 2.1%, compared with a national average of 6.1%.

State officials also noted the data was collected before Minnesota began rolling out additional measures aimed at reducing fraud risk.

“We’re committed to making Minnesota a national model for preventing fraud and catching errors,” said Shireen Gandhi, the state’s interim human services commissioner. “This review shows we have strong internal controls that we continue to improve, and we are not stopping there as we accelerate our efforts to fight fraud.”

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Bernstein, who said she has only voted Democratic, said the fraud was genuine and not partisan politics.

“This is definitely not something that the Republicans are making up,” she said. “This is real.”

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.

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Midwest

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., spoke candidly on Wednesday, defending her outbursts during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Omar, along with colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who was seated next to her, appeared on video repeatedly interrupting and gesturing toward Trump several times throughout his speech.

Omar appeared to shout “You are a murderer” and “You’re a liar.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar, right, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib at her side, spoke at a news conference at the State Capitol. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

When appearing on CNN, Omar was pressed by host Wolf Blitzer, who noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked members of his caucus to either sit in silence or to not attend at all.

“Should you have just boycotted the address? And do you think you violated the guidelines set out by your own leader?” he asked.

“No, I think it was really unavoidable. The president talked about protecting Americans, and I just had to remind him that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents,” Omar responded.

“Do you have any regrets at all about the interaction we played between you and President Trump just last night?” Blitzer asked.

“I do not, and I think many people look at that moment when the president says, ‘It is our responsibility to protect Americans,’ and he does not acknowledge the fact that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors, were killed,” she said. “And it was important for me to just remind the American people that the president and his administration was responsible for killing two American citizens.”

Blitzer proceeded to ask, with hindsight in mind, whether she still thinks she made the right choice by showing up.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., shout at President Donald Trump as he delivers his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I brought four Minnesotans up as guests for the Minnesota delegation. It was important for us to be there, to bear witness, to hold space for our constituents that have lived through an occupation from federal law enforcement, that have been terrorized, that have seen our neighbors been killed and traumatized in so many ways and, so, no. I think it was really important for my constituents to see me there,” she said.

“It was really important to my constituents to hear that. I was reminding the president that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed under this administration.”

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Democrats have rallied around the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good as a means to criticize ICE and immigration enforcement efforts. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

It responded with a Truth Social post from Trump in which he called for critics like Omar and Tlaib to be put on a boat and “send them back from where they came.”

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Alexander.hall@fox.com.

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Detroit, MI

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.

“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”

Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.

And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”

Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”

From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.

Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.

The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.

Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Weather – Frosty and cold morning, sunny day ahead

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels

Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.

Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10

Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5

Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10

Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10

Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10

Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10

6-day planner

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

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Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.