Rep. Jim Joy Statement on Recent Fraud Stories

Saint Paul, MN – State Representative Jim Joy, R-Hawley, issued the following statement today after a string of troubling fraud-related stories reported by local media, including revelations that a Liberian government official was operating at least 24 group homes in Minnesota, sex trafficking victims were used as fake employees to scam taxpayers, incomplete applications were approved for Minnesota Promise grants, and a Feeding Our Future defendant is facing more jail time for witness tampering:

“Every one of these stories points to the same troubling reality: Minnesota’s systems for protecting taxpayer dollars are failing, and the people responsible for overseeing those systems have yet to provide the accountability Minnesotans deserve,” said Joy. “We cannot continue to treat each new fraud scandal as an isolated incident when they keep happening across different programs and agencies. This is a systemic problem that requires systemic change. Minnesotans work too hard to have their tax dollars wasted or stolen because government failed to do its job. It’s time to stop making excuses, start demanding answers, and put real safeguards in place to ensure this never happens again.”