USDA suspends ‘federal financial awards’ for Minnesota, citing ‘massive fraud’

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has announced that her agency is “suspending federal financial awards” to Minnesota and Minneapolis, citing evidence of “fraud” found by the Trump administration.

Rollins published a letter Friday addressed to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, announcing the suspension of “all active awards and any future awards from USDA to the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis, currently totaling over $129.18 million.”

She also instructed Minnesota officials to “provide the USDA with payment justifications for all federal dollar expenditures from January 20, 2025, to the present” within 30 days.

The Independent has contacted Walz and Frey for comment.

It’s unclear exactly which programs will be impacted by this suspension. The Independent has contacted the USDA for more information.

In a social media post announcing the decision, Rollins said the Trump administration has “uncovered massive fraud” and that “those in charge have ZERO plan to fix. it.”

Rollins wrote in her letter that “numerous non-profits and businesses have defrauded the federal government” while Walz and Frey have been in office.

She then cited the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, which first emerged in 2022. Dozens of people have been convicted in connection with the scheme, which prosecutors said involved the theft of millions of dollars from a federal program designed to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.