Minnesota-Type Fraud Likely in Ohio, Say State Lawmakers

A Republican-led initiative calls for a state agency to ramp up scrutiny of child care sites for possible fraud schemes.

The skyline of downtown Columbus, Ohio, on July, 29, 2017. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

Citing suspected child care fraud, akin to the Somali-dominated scandals in Minnesota, dozens of Ohio lawmakers are urging a state agency to aggressively investigate any concerns of possible fraud at day care sites.

State Rep. Josh Williams shared a letter to the state Department of Children and Youth on Dec. 30, signed by at least 40 other lawmakers, requesting the investigation.

“I am officially calling for the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to investigate all Columbus-area daycares suspected of potential fraud. We need round-the-clock, unannounced inspections of all childcare facilities receiving public dollars to make sure not a single Ohioan’s tax dollars are being stolen,” Williams posted on X, along with the letter.

“What’s happening in Minnesota is almost certainly occurring in Columbus—and Ohio needs to use every power we have under the law to put a stop to it.”

Williams and dozens of fellow lawmakers also signed a separate letter from state Rep. Tex Fischer, urging Ohio Auditor Keith Faber to delve into not only day care centers but also publicly funded home healthcare providers.

“After news broke exposing the $10 billion fraud network in Minnesota, we have heard from citizens raising concerns about similar fraud that may be happening in our state,” Fischer wrote in the letter, posted to X on Dec. 30.

Citizens pointed out “irregularities and suspicious activity that are discernible from a simple online search,” Fischer wrote.

Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, told The Epoch Times that thieves can and will try to steal from anywhere they can—from grocery stores to government programs. “People trying to scam the government is a fact of life,” Tierney said, adding that government needs to take as many preventive measures as possible.

He said one video circulating on social media, which showed no children at an Ohio day care in recent days, wasn’t surprising because the video was shot during the holiday season when day cares would be expected to be closed. Tierney also said Ohio has stronger safeguards than Minnesota appears to have.

“We do not simply pay because they are enrolled,” Tierney said, adding that an electronic check-in system ensures that children attend the day care programs. Ohio’s payment system is based on attendance, not enrollment, he said.

Among other actions, Williams and other lawmakers asked in the letter for increased “frequency of unannounced inspections of child care facilities, particularly those operating within the Columbus, Ohio, region,” based on public reports alleging fraudulent billing.

Unannounced visits are already “a tool that is being used,” and those would continue, Tierney said, adding that he still needed to review Williams’ proposal in greater detail.

However, “we are doing a lot of things that are being suggested,” Tierney said.

The state Department of Children and Youth did not return a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

Williams’ letter follows his prior statements responding to reports that fraud may also be entrenched in Ohio—and his broader call for swift, strong action.

“Arrest, prosecute, jail, denaturalize, and deport all Somali fraudsters,” he wrote Dec. 29. “Haul every single Minnesota politician that enabled the fraud before Congress and take away their federal funding if they allow it to continue.”

That same day, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) announced: “I’m calling for the denaturalization and deportation of every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota.”

Emmer, the House GOP whip, said he would work to enact any law changes that would be needed so those actions could be taken.

The Buckeye State is home of the nation’s second-largest Somali population, after Minnesota. Around 26,000 Somalis—about half the size of the Minnesota Somali community—call Ohio home, according to Neilsberg research.