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Pam Bondi dispatches federal prosecutors to Minnesota following Somali fraud allegations

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Pam Bondi dispatches federal prosecutors to Minnesota following Somali fraud allegations

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Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department will send additional federal prosecutors to Minnesota amid an expanding fraud investigation tied to Somali-run nonprofit operations.

“The Department of Justice is dispatching a team of prosecutors to Minnesota to reinforce our U.S. Attorney’s Office and put the perpetrators of this widespread fraud behind bars,” Bondi told Fox News on Wednesday. 

Bondi vowed “severe consequences in Minnesota” and said the department stands “ready to deploy to any other state where similar fraud schemes are robbing American taxpayers.”

A DOJ official told Fox News the department is already planning a similar surge of prosecutorial resources in other states.

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

Attorney General Pam Bondi conducts a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Bondi’s remarks, first reported by the New York Post, come as the department continues a welfare fraud investigation that broke open under former Attorney General Merrick Garland.

In 2022, Garland announced the first wave of indictments in what he said was a $250 million scheme perpetrated by a Minnesota-based nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which was found to have exploited taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. Garland described it at the time as the “largest pandemic relief fraud to date.” 

The DOJ under Bondi has continued to investigate and prosecute those involved with Feeding Our Future and tangential schemes involving alleged juror bribery and healthcare fraud. Bondi recently said the scale of the fraud is greater than previously known and that more criminal charges are coming, likely with the help of the additional prosecutors now set to work in the DOJ’s Minnesota office.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Somali illegal immigrant Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, convicted of fraud, and connected to several high-profile Minnesota politicians, including former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz. (ICE)

To date, the department has charged 98 people in fraud-related cases in Minnesota and secured 64 convictions. The vast majority of defendants have been of Somali descent.

The Trump administration, including the White House, the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, have targeted the roughly 100,000 Somalis in Minnesota as a community ripe for immigration enforcement and possible denaturalization. Critics say only a fraction have engaged in fraud and that President Donald Trump is spearheading a xenophobic campaign against upstanding Somali Americans.

Health and Human Services said this month that it froze billions of dollars in federal funding for childcare programs and other social services in five Democrat-led states, including Minnesota, while it investigates their use of taxpayer dollars.

REP TOM EMMER: WALZ OVERSAW BILLIONS IN STOLEN TAXPAYER MONEY — NOW COMES ACCOUNTABILITY

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Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was found at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News Channel)

A viral video posted by YouTube creator Nick Shirley in December amplified the attention on fraud in Minnesota. The video, showing Shirley visiting Somali-run daycare centers and finding that they were closed, has attracted millions of views on social media.

Some of the daycare centers have since disputed the suggestions in Shirley’s video and said they have never committed fraud.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

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Wisconsin

‘Not a hiding place’: Ogden police lauded for role in catching Nevada, Wisconsin murder suspects

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‘Not a hiding place’: Ogden police lauded for role in catching Nevada, Wisconsin murder suspects


OGDEN — In the last week, Ogden police have helped track down two suspects wanted outside of Utah in connection with separate homicides, which has Chief Jake Sube lauding the efforts of local law enforcement.

“Ogden is not a place where violent criminals come to run, hide or blend in. If you victimize people and come here to hide, we will find you,” he said in a social media post Tuesday.

In the most recent case, Ogden officials on Sunday arrested Randy Darius Jenks, 36, wanted in Mount Morris, Wisconsin, in connection with the death of his grandmother. The woman’s body had been discovered that same day at her Wisconsin home, according to court papers filed in 2nd District Court in Ogden as part of Jenks’ arrest accusing him of being a fugitive from justice.

On March 3, police arrested Ziaire Jacob Ham, 22, who is charged in Las Vegas with murder in the killing of a woman and a toddler, according to court papers and Sube’s statement. Ham had been spotted in Ogden by an Ogden officer and subsequently fled to Roy, where he was arrested.

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“The arrest of these two individuals reflects exactly how we protect Ogden every day. We use technology, relentless police work and coordinated action with our regional partners to find violent offenders, take them into custody and deliver them to justice,” Sube said.

Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski echoed Sube’s comments. “Ogden is not a hiding place,” he said.

The image shows Ziaire Ham, arrested in Roy on March 3, after an Ogden officer spotted him in Ogden. He’s suspected in the killings of two people in Nevada. (Photo: Ogden police)

Waushara County, Wisconsin, law enforcement officials found a dead woman on Sunday at a Mount Morris home. Jenks “admitted to multiple family members” that he had stabbed the woman in the neck and killed her, and then drove to Ogden, according to court papers filed in Ogden. Wisconsin authorities alerted Ogden officials, who were also alerted on Sunday by the man’s family here that he was in their home.

“Randy Jenks was located and taken into custody and officers noted the presence of blood on Randy’s person and clothing,” court documents state. Police body camera footage posted to the Ogden Police Department Facebook page shows Jenks surrendering to officers.

According to WLUK, a Green Bay, Wisconsin TV station, Jenks faces a count in Wisconsin of first-degree intentional homicide. The court papers filed in Ogden say Jenks confessed to killing his grandma, complaining that the woman “pushed him too far.” A bloody folding knife found in the Ogden home where Jenks had fled to is the weapon he used to kill the woman, with whom he lived, the charges allege.

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In the Ham case, an Ogden officer on March 3 spotted a car that had been reported stolen out of Phoenix, Arizona, with Ham inside, driving. The officer attempted to pull him over, but Ham fled, eventually making it to Roy and abandoning his car. Authorities arrested him nearby.

Ham is charged in 2nd District Court with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony; failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, a third-degree felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor. According to court papers filed Tuesday, he has waived extradition to Las Vegas. Sube’s statement on Tuesday said Ham confessed to the killings in Nevada when interviewed by Ogden detectives.

Authorities said they thought Ham had discarded a gun somewhere between Ogden and Roy. Ogden police said Saturday that the gun had been located.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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Midwest

Obama, Biden, Clintons remember Jesse Jackson in Chicago memorial service

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Obama, Biden, Clintons remember Jesse Jackson in Chicago memorial service

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Former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton are among the prominent guests Friday paying tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at his memorial service in Chicago. 

Hundreds of people were seen lined up earlier Friday morning to enter the 10,000-seat House of Hope arena for the event remembering the longtime civil rights leader, two-time Democratic presidential candidate and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rev. Al Sharpton and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are some of the other notable attendees. 

President Donald Trump, who is not attending the event, said on Feb. 17 following the 84-year-old’s death that he knew Jackson “well” and described him as “a good man.”

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REV JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND RAINBOW PUSH FOUNDER, DIES AT 84

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Jill Biden and former President Joe Biden attend a public memorial service to celebrate the life of civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, Ill., on March 6, 2026.  (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

The three former Democratic presidents, who are each scheduled to speak at the event, were met with cheers as they entered the House of Hope on Friday. 

On the day of his death, Jackson’s family said, “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of civil rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr.” 

VANCE, HARRIS, OBAMA ISSUE TRIBUTES TO REV JESSE JACKSON

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People gather for a memorial service for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

“He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family,” said a statement from Jackson’s family.

Former President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton arrive at a memorial service for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, on Friday, March 6, 2026.  (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

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“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family added. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions.” 

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Fox News’ Patrick McGovern and Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater To Backup Jared Goff in 2026

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Detroit Lions Sign QB Teddy Bridgewater To Backup Jared Goff in 2026


The free agency tampering period has begun for the NFL, and the Detroit Lions are among the active teams acquiring players as they try to get back to the playoffs after they did not meet their own standard for last season.

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On Monday, it was revealed that 2025 Lions backup quarterback Kyle Allen was heading to Buffalo, leaving another hole in the roster to fill. Nearly 24 hours later, that hole has been filled, as veteran quarterbackTeddy Bridgewater is heading back to Motown.

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Bridgewater spent the 2023 season with Detroit, in what initially was going to be his final season in the league.

However, after coaching Miami Northwestern Senior High School to a state championship in Florida during the 2024 season, he announced he was planning to unretire, and Detroit picked him up for their push towards the top seed in the NFC.

Bridgewater then resigned as head coach at Miami Northwestern and signed with Tampa Bay to backup Baker Mayfield last season.

He appeared in four games last season, throwing 15 passes for the Buccaneers, which were his first NFL pass attempts since 2022.

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Bridgewater is a safe option at backup quarterback in Detroit, as the former Rookie of the Year has had a steady career since entering the league with Minnesota out of Louisville in 2014.

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Bridgewater returns to back up Jared Goff under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, as this is a situation where Detroit stuck with a player they knew.  For Petzing, this is not the first time coaching Teddy Bridgewater, as he was an offensive assistant with Minnesota when they drafted Bridgewater in 2014.

A leg injury derailed his career after a Pro Bowl season in 2015, but he has started 37 games since the injury as a journeyman. Bridgewater left Minnesota and Drew Petzing and would overlap with Dan Campbell when the quarterback played for New Orleans in 2018 and 2019. In addition to Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and Detroit, Bridgewater has also played for Carolina, Denver, and Miami.

Detroit stuck with a safe and familiar option in Bridgewater, as a majority of their offense, alongside most of their offensive staff, have worked with the quarterback before. If Bridgewater is turned to in any situation, there will be full confidence in the Louisville product to make the right play.

NFL Draft Implications

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This puts Detroit in a unique position when looking ahead towards the NFL Draft, as a popular mock draft pick for Detroit was taking a quarterback, with Cole Payton, Luke Altmyer, and Taylen Green all being among the names mentioned.

Bridgewater is an excellent mentor alongside Goff, but having three quarterbacks on the Lions roster after injury-riddled campaigns in the last two seasons may not be the wisest allocation of a roster spot.

For the time being, Detroit has their backup quarterback for the season, and there is not a better option than Bridgewater when it comes to familiarity and adaptability. While the former Pro Bowl quarterback has yet to throw a pass in Detroit, he has the familiairity and trust of the coaching staff to be a backup entering a pivotal year.



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