Minnesota Republicans testified Wednesday that Democratic leaders in the state successfully silenced hundreds of auditors, accountants, and program managers investigating widespread fraud in Somali-run businesses. Rep. Marion Rarick told a House hearing that up to 1,000 government employees were threatened, blacklisted, or otherwise prevented from reporting wrongdoing.

According to the whistleblowers:

• Retaliation included threats of being fired “with cause,” preventing unemployment benefits, and blacklisting from all state agencies, including Democrat-led Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.

• Employees’ personal information—photos of homes and cars—was allegedly collected, and supervisors asked invasive questions about family routines, creating fear.

• Internal surveillance programs monitored emails and chats for keywords like “fraud,” “double billing,” and “overpayments.”

Former DHS compliance specialist Faye Bernstein described similar experiences: after reporting sloppy contracting practices, she was escorted from the building, investigated, transferred involuntarily, and barred from DHS properties. She warned that reporting fraud today amounts to “career suicide.”

Rep. Rarick also accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of ignoring or publicly denouncing whistleblowers. Flanagan allegedly mocked staff concerned about fraud at a public equity conference, calling them “weirdos and losers sitting in their mother’s basement.”

Rarick described the issue as systemic, alleging that Democratic leaders aligned with a Somali political network to suppress accountability, and compared it to broader nationwide trends where American professionals are replaced by compliant foreign workers in tech, accounting, and healthcare sectors, limiting public oversight.

Whistleblowers say the fear of retaliation has only intensified as the fraud has continued, leaving Minnesota state employees in a constant state of vigilance and concern for their careers and personal safety.