Ernst Works to Put a Stop to Fraud Before It Starts

WASHINGTON – After an estimated $9 billion or more exposed in Minnesota fraud, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is putting safeguards in place to stop scams early and claw back any money ripped off from taxpayers.

Ernst’s Putting an N to Learing about Fraud Act will strengthen oversight and accountability to prevent fraud and recover stolen funds by tying funding to actual attendance, requiring reimbursement after services are provided, mandating long-term recordkeeping, and allowing audits by federal authorities.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable that the fraud running rampant in Minnesota could end up costing taxpayers more than $9 billion,” said Senator Ernst. “My will ensure this never happens again by putting more safeguards in place to detect scams early and require the recovery of any money ripped off from taxpayers. The swindlers in Minnesota and everywhere else soon are going to ‘lear’ the hard way that in the era of DOGE, crime no longer pays.”

Although just the tip of the iceberg, some of the many outrageous examples of fraud in Minnesota include:

• An empty Minnesota child care center, the Quality Learing Center, received $1.9 million from taxpayers last year and abruptly closed after Nick Shirley’s visit;
• Another center at the same address as the Quality Learing Center was raided by the FBI a decade earlier for fraudulently claiming to be caring for more children than were on site and billing for services when it was closed;
• Another $14 million was stolen from an “autism program” by an organization that paid cash kickbacks to parents for signing up their children who did not have autism; and
• State officials ignored and even retaliated against whistleblowers who warned about potential fraud.

To expose and stop fronts for taxpayer-funded scams, Ernst’s bill will:

• Require payments to child care centers are based on attendance not just enrollment;
• Distribute reimbursements after a service has been provided instead of in advance;
• Create transparency by requiring attendance records be auditable;
• Establish an automatic alert and review system when billing for services spike; and
• Identify and recover all improper payments – whether these tax dollars were ripped off by fraudsters or made in error.

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