As the massive fraud in the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota continues to unfold, renewed scrutiny is focusing on how much of the billions stolen from American taxpayers has gone directly into the hands of al-Shabaab terrorists.
On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the Treasury is investigating organizations and companies that shift money from one part of the globe to another.
Bessent shared on X, “Egregious fraud in Minnesota has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, including funds sent to Somalia through money services businesses (MSBs), which provide financial services outside a formal bank.”
“Under @POTUS’ leadership, the @USTreasury will not stop until we fully investigate this deeply disturbing scam.”
“To that end, Treasury will soon issue a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) subjecting certain Money Services Businesses (MSBs) to enhanced reporting requirements with FinCEN. This important tool will be used to make sure information regarding any such illicit activity is quickly reported to @FinCENnews and made available to our law enforcement partners.”
“This will empower investigators to develop additional leads through increased scrutiny on funds going to areas of concern, such as Somalia.”
“Additionally, Treasury personnel are on the ground working hard to uncover the facts. FinCEN will soon be issuing Notices of Investigations to MSBs of concern, and I can report that @IRSnews will be examining these businesses.”
“Under President Trump, we will not stop until we fully investigate, analyze, and permanently end this massive fraud ring.”
Egregious fraud in Minnesota has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, including funds sent to Somalia through money services businesses (MSBs), which provide financial services outside a formal bank.
Under @POTUS’ leadership, the @USTreasury will not stop until we…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) December 12, 2025
On Sunday, Bessent joined CBS’s Face the Nation and revealed an active probe into the massive fraud operation.
The scheme, which siphoned off more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars, has already been linked to donations to prominent Democrats in the state, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Representative Ilhan Omar, and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Bessent noted, “To be clear, the initial fraud that was discovered by the IRS, for which I’m the acting commissioner, it was discovered by IRS Criminal Investigation Unit.”
“This was not endogenous that the state of Minnesota decided. We had to go in and clean up the mess for them, and this is part of the continued cleanup.”
Bessent continued, “A lot of money has been transferred from the individuals who committed this fraud, including those who donated to the governor, donated to representative Omar and to AG Ellison. They have been transferred to something called MBSs… these are Money Bureau Services, and they are wire transfer organizations that are outside the regulated banking system. And that money has gone overseas, and we are tracking that, both to the Middle East and to Somalia, to see what the uses of that have been.”
The post Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Confirms Investigation into U.S. Tax Dollars Funding al-Shabaab Terrorists in Somalia: ‘Egregious Fraud’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.