Tipsheet

Journalist David Hoch Testified Before Congress About Minnesota Fraud. Here's What He Said.

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  February 05, 2026 12:15 PM

At the beginning of December, Townhall reported that a group of Minnesota government employees had blown the whistle on Governor Tim Walz, saying he was not only aware of the massive fraud occurring in his state but also had retaliated against those who reported it and tried to stop it.

There's a reason Walz dropped out of the gubernatorial race, and it's not because he's an upstanding guy. Yesterday, independent journalist David Hoch, who worked with fellow journalist Nick Shirley to expose Somali daycare fraud, testified before Congress.

"My journey into uncovering fraud in Minnesota...began when I started to notice very unusual changes in the Minneapolis area," Hoch said. "Remember, I grew up there, so I know Minneapolis very well. Most notably, the enormous number of childcare facilities that had opened up."

Hoch testified that he noticed multiple daycares opening on the same block, and other peculiarities, like no footprints in the snow outside these buildings. 

"I'd go by them three, four, five times a day," Hoch said.

Hoch also addressed the accusations that he was unfairly targeting the Somali community. "As one Somali gentleman exclaimed in our second video, 'We're not the only community that does fraud,'" Hoch said. "Fraud certainly exists in every community. It was the sheer volume and the blatant nature of the Somali fraud that demanded my attention."

"How did we arrive at this point?" Hoch asked. "We got here because of politicians, almost exclusively Democrats. A couple of names come to mind: Jodi Harpstead, the former Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, and Shireen Gandhi, the current Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Harpstead put the whole fraud on steroids. She was steering the ship from 2019 to 2025...this is when the whole fraud network exploded."

He also says Tim Walz was aware of the fraud and refused to act on it.

"So, going back to whether Governor Walz knew about it, Governor Walz admitted knowing about the fraud early in his first term, which would be 2020," Hoch said.

"Well, Minnesota statute 3.971, subdivision nine, clearly says that if you are made aware of fraud in a state agency, you are obligated to immediately report that fraud to the Office of the Legislative Auditor. Immediately. The Legislative Auditor is then the body that determines which law enforcement agency to bring into the investigation," Hoch continued. "Governor Walz did not contact the Office of the Legislative Auditor. He said he contacted the FBI. About what? That's not what the law says."

Tim Walz is scheduled to testify at a Congressional hearing about the fraud on February 10.