Minnesota fraud cases at risk amid US Attorney exodus

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    8 more federal prosecutors leaving U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota 

The ability to prosecute criminal fraud cases in Minnesota is at risk due to recent resignations in the US Attorney’s Office.

Three weeks ago, Acting US Attorney Joe Thompson and five others resigned, and now eight more are preparing to leave.

Thompson has estimated these investigations could ultimately reveal billions of dollars worth of fraud within state-run safety net programs.

Beyond that, David Schultz, a distinguished professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, said these departures are likely to hamper just about every function of the office.

“Never, never in my entire career, and if we go back in history, not really,” said Schultz, when asked if he has ever seen this level of resignations from a U.S. Attorney’s Office. “And throughout at least, I’m confident to say, let’s say recent American history, taking us back, let’s say 100 years.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison questioned the Trump administration’s goals in the state, given that their focus here began over rampant allegations of fraud.

“You purportedly are fighting fraud. You don’t bring in accountants, you don’t bring in computer experts, you bring in armed men with masks… But then you create a situation where fraud investigators and prosecutors are leaving. You’re jeopardizing the public dollar,” Ellison said.

“This is very, very serious. In order to rebuild the DOJ, it’s going to take a Herculean effort, and we’re so far from it,” he added.

During a news conference Monday, Minnesota Department of Human Services Inspector General James Clark said he hasn’t heard from the U.S. Attorney’s Office about ongoing fraud investigations or possible new charges since the first wave of resignations in mid-January, adding they last met in December for “a very productive conversation” that included “talks about future collaboration and information sharing.”

“Unfortunately, I think all of the attorneys I met within that meeting have since resigned from the office, and I haven’t had any follow-up from folks at the US Attorney’s office since then,” said Clark.

Schultz noted the challenges of replacing the federal prosecutors. “To say we’re going to bring some people in temporarily, or hire new people, it takes weeks. It could even take months to bring some of these attorneys up to speed… And so I’m going to guess that for the short term, the next several months, a lot of the prosecution, investigation for fraud is on hold at this point,” he said.

The reasons for these resignations remain unclear, but they coincide with frustration over the handling of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

The U.S. Department of Justice has not responded to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS inquiries about the resignations as of this report.
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