MINNEAPOLIS — Top Trump administration officials were in Minneapolis on Thursday to announce new criminal charges against people who they say stole from Medicaid-funded social programs.

It’s the latest development in the federal government’s sweeping investigation into social services fraud in Minnesota.

Here are four things to know:

Federal officials announced indictments against 15 people who allegedly defrauded Medicaid-backed social services programs of a collective $90 million.

The criminal charges involve businesses that did work across seven social services programs in the Twin Cities and across the state, from Blue Earth to St. Cloud. Many of the people are accused of billing for services that, according to court documents, were never provided.

Some of the people indicted, or their businesses, have already been in the news after the FBI raided their sites.

See who was charged and a summary of the accusations here.

Daniel Rosen, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, said at the news conference in Minneapolis that the state has the “unfortunate distinction” of having brought national attention to Medicaid fraud. He said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to combating further wrongdoing.

The news conference, which featured Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, took place just after Aimee Bock, the convicted ringleader of the massive Feeding Our Future scandal, was sentenced to nearly 42 years in federal prison.

Oz has been the public face of efforts to freeze billions in Medicaid funding to Minnesota. Oz said Thursday that the state has yet to satisfy requirements that would prevent that outcome.

Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the national fraud enforcement division, said federal officials were pouring more resources into fraud-fighting efforts.

That includes expanding a health care fraud “strike force” to Minnesota and hiring 15 additional prosecutors focused on combating Medicaid wrongdoing across the country.

An exodus of lawyers from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota had seemingly set back the prosecution of fraudsters. Tens of attorneys have left over frustration with Trump administration mandates.

Thursday’s indictments came after months without any announcement of charges. Federal officials praised the speed and scope of the indictments, repeatedly calling them “unprecedented.”

McDonald criticized Minnesota officials for not doing enough to cooperate in fraud-fighting efforts. Gov. Tim Walz has faced heat for his handling of the crisis, one reason he abandoned his bid for a third term.

But a spokesperson for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said federal law enforcement agents in the state regularly work with Medicaid fraud investigators in the Attorney General’s Office and “have never once expressed dissatisfaction.”

The state’s Department of Human Services has pointed to reforms, including freezing enrollment of new providers and strengthening licensing standards, while trying to head off mounting attempts from the Trump administration to withhold Medicaid funding to the state.

Responding to the indictments, the Minnesota Department of Human Services said it has referred 300 potential fraud cases to law enforcement since the beginning of 2025.

The department also said it has stopped payments to 636 providers, including businesses connected to some of the defendants.

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—Allison Kite and Bill Lukitsch of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.

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