TSA agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport flagged $692 million in declared US currency leaving the country in two years—$1 million per day. The cash, packed into suitcases by US citizens of Somali descent, flew to Amsterdam, then Dubai. TSA agents routinely reported every movement to Customs and Homeland Security Investigations.
The Biden administration did nothing.
Minneapolis cash movements ran 90 to 99 times larger than JFK, Seattle, and Atlanta. Columbus, Ohio added $136 million since November 2023, routing through Minneapolis overseas. Federal prosecutors estimate criminals stole $9 billion from Minnesota taxpayer programs since 2018. Ninety-eight defendants charged—85 of Somali descent. Sixty-four convictions secured.
Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul launched an investigation January 14. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s assessment of Governor Tim Walz: “The man should be in cuffs.”
The Stand-Down
TSA agents encountered the pattern repeatedly: Somali men traveling in pairs, suitcases containing $1 million or more. Every movement flagged. Every report filed. Every concern ignored.
A federal official told Just the News: “There wasn’t much that could be done because the couriers always had their paperwork in order. But there were concerns.”
Cash transfers began after Democrat Tim Walz became Minnesota governor in 2018. Reports indicate the White House told TSA to “stand down” on Minneapolis movements. While couriers legally declared currency, the scale—99 times higher than comparable airports—demanded investigation that never came.
Paul captured the absurdity on Joe Rogan’s podcast: “A million dollars a day has been flown out of the Minneapolis airport for years and the TSA has been carefully documenting it to ensure all the paperwork is done, while federal prosecutors have been plodding along convicting Somalis of billion-dollar frauds.”
Investigations only began after Trump returned to the White House.
The Fraud Machine
Feeding Our Future: $250 million COVID-era food program fraud, largest pandemic fraud in the nation. Seventy-eight defendants, 90% Somali descent. Ahmed Ali and Hussein enrolled fake sites in the Federal Child Nutrition Program, claimed to serve thousands of meals daily, submitted fraudulently inflated invoices, collected federal reimbursements. A federal jury convicted the organization’s head March 2025.
Housing Stability Services Program: Estimated at $2.6 million annually, paid out $100 million before October shutdown. On track for $122 million in 2025. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimates 90% was fraud. Eight charged September 2025, five more in December—including two Pennsylvanians engaging in “fraud tourism.”
Autism fraud: Asha Farhan Hassan recruited Somali parents to enroll children in Smart Therapy regardless of need, paid monthly cash kickbacks. Eighty autism centers under investigation. Quality LEARING Center alone received $10 million.
Investigators suspect fraud proceeds were converted to cash and exported via hawala networks—informal Somali remittance systems—producing the million-dollar-a-day airport exodus.
The Terror Trail
Tom Emmer stated what federal investigators discovered: “At the end of the rope was Al-Shabaab in Somalia. At least I know of $5 million that has gone directly to Al-Shabaab in Somalia, from Minnesota.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed: “We are investigating funds sent to Somalia through money service businesses…These funds could have potentially been diverted to al-Shabaab. We have traced where the money went.”
The terror connection runs deep. Federal records cite 2009 Senate hearings documenting al-Shabaab recruitment in US Somali communities. Shirwa Ahmed, a Minneapolis naturalized citizen, carried out a suicide bombing in Somalia October 2008—the first American citizen suicide bomber.
October 2025: Abdisatar Ahmed Hasan, 23, pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Hasan publicly supported Al Shabaab and ISIS, twice attempted traveling from Minnesota to Somalia to join ISIS.
The Whistleblower Purge
Three Minnesota Republican legislators testified before House Oversight January 7: Kristin Robbins (Fraud Prevention Committee chair), Walter Hudson, Marion Rarick. Their testimony revealed systematic retaliation against those who tried stopping the fraud.
One thousand whistleblowers exposed fraud in Minnesota state agencies through social media. Walz administration ignored them, then retaliated.
Rarick detailed tactics: “Fired with cause so they couldn’t have unemployment insurance, blacklisted from all state agencies, veiled threat of the use of military intelligence against them.”
Whistleblowers found photos of their homes and cars in personnel files. Supervisors asked where their children attend school, where their bus stops are.
Emmer questioned whether claims were credible or political.
Rarick: “Completely credible, not politically motivated. They are actually Democrats as well.”
Emmer announced Tuesday whistleblowers are preparing sworn affidavits: “They not only told Tim Walz about the fraud while it was happening, but Tim Walz ignored them and in many cases retaliated against them.” Retaliation included “threatening to blackball you from any future employment, threatening to take away your health benefits, threatening to take away your retirement benefits.”
An Inspector General investigation of Human Services was shut down. When Keith Ellison became Attorney General in 2019, his first action required his express approval for all investigations. No investigations occurred since.
Walz Knew
Robbins testified credible fraud reports started surfacing in 2011. Walz knew “from the very beginning” of his governorship. “He was running for governor in 2018, when there were prosecutions going on, active cases in the news all the time.”
All three legislators testified they had “no doubt” Walz knew about the $9 billion fraud and did nothing.
Hudson explained why: “In my opinion, because it was politically beneficial to Democrats. The Somali community is a huge constituency group, and we’ve had some tight races in Minnesota, and it makes a difference for them.”
The Crackdown
Treasury Secretary Bessent announced fraud-fighting initiatives January 10: investigation notices to money services businesses, Geographic Targeting Order requiring banks in Minneapolis/St. Paul to report transactions over $3,000 with foreign beneficiaries, whistleblower incentive program with cash rewards.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced a “surge” of investigative resources December 28: “The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg.” Patel warned of denaturalization and deportation proceedings.
January 14, DHS terminated Temporary Protected Status for Somalia effective March 17. The Federal Register states permitting Somali nationals to remain “would be contrary to the national interest.” Somalia lacks competent passport authority, appropriate screening measures, poses persistent al-Shabaab terrorist threat. A Presidential Proclamation suspended Somali admissions.
FY 2024 data: Somalia’s visa overstay rates nine times higher than global averages for business visitors, seven times higher for students.
The Reckoning
January 6, Walz dropped his third-term bid—stunning reversal for Democrats’ VP nominee 18 months earlier. January 7, he refused resignation: “Over my dead body.”
Emmer: “This guy has got to stop acting like a coward and start taking accountability for the fact that he is completely incompetent, and perhaps even complicit, in one of the most breathtaking fraud examples we’ve ever seen.”
House Oversight Chairman James Comer invited Walz and Ellison to testify February 10.
A million dollars a day left Minneapolis for two years while Biden’s administration stood down. Nine billion stolen. Five million reached terrorists. Walz knew. Whistleblowers warned him. He destroyed them instead.
Rand Paul’s investigation continues. The February 10 hearing looms. And one question remains: How many other cities are running Minneapolis-scale operations that federal authorities haven’t discovered yet?
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