In a heated political clash, Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Scott Jensen, has accused Governor Tim Walz of orchestrating a scandalous cover-up, likening it to the infamous Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Speaking to Fox News, Jensen, 71, suggested that the situation in Minnesota might surpass Watergate in severity, potentially involving a “pay-to-play scheme” with elected officials.

Federal investigations have revealed that over the past five years, numerous fraudsters, many linked to Minnesota’s Somali community, embezzled more than $1 billion intended for programs supporting hungry children, homeless families, and autism patients. Some of those charged in the fraud have been found to have connections with Governor Walz, intensifying scrutiny on his administration.

Jensen has criticized Walz and the state’s Department of Education for reportedly knowing about the fraudulent activities as early as 2020 but delaying the involvement of federal investigators until the following year. Contradicting claims by Walz’s team that they promptly engaged the FBI upon discovering the issue, Jensen accused the Democratic governor of artfully deflecting blame while potentially implicating others. He warned that even more troubling revelations about the welfare fraud might emerge in the future.

He said: ‘The underlying question has to be: is there something more nefarious than this?’ The Republican politician wondered whether there was ‘literally sequestration of funds that at some point in time could be paid back to people when things have calmed down.’ ‘Is there some pay-to-play scheme that we haven’t yet been informed about?’ Jensen said. ‘That’s what’s really frightening.’ If that accusation turned out to be real, Jensen warned, there would likely be a ‘need for criminal prosecution to take place of some Minnesota elected officials’ at some level.

White House officials declared Friday that Somali refugees in the state had committed the ‘biggest theft of taxpayer dollars in US history’ and that local Democratic officials were ‘fully complicit.’ The suspects allegedly ran companies that billed Minnesota state officials for millions of dollars in social services that were never actually rendered as part of three separate fraud schemes. Walz was previously pictured with Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, who was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Friday. Ibrahim had previously been convicted in Canada of asylum and welfare fraud, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

US Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller said authorities ‘believe the state government is fully complicit in this scheme, and we believe that what we uncover is going to shock the American people.’ ‘We believe that we’ve only scratched the very top of the surface of how deep this goes,’ Miller told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Friday night. After the scandal in Minnesota was revealed, US President Donald Trump announced he was ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis. This led to Ibrahim’s arrest on Friday. While announcing the Minnesota man’s arrest on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security noted that Ibrahim had ‘been linked to Minnesota’s top sanctuary politicians’ and wrote ‘Bye-bye, Abdul.’

Ibrahim was one of the many alleged scammers in Minnesota’s Somali community accused of stealing more than $1 billion. The money was intended for feeding children, helping homeless families and providing autism therapy but instead bankrolled expensive cars, lakefront homes, shopping sprees and luxury international travel. Over five years, they created companies that billed Minnesota’s agencies for services that were exaggerated or nonexistent. IRS investigator Justin Campbell called it the ‘epitome of greed.’

But Walz said that his administration erred on the side of generosity during the COVID-19 pandemic and was focused on doling money out to people as soon as possible. ‘The programs are set up to improve people’s lives, and in many cases, the criminals find the loopholes,’ the Minnesota governor told The New York Times . He offered a simple message for criminals in Minnesota taking advantage of the state’s Scandinavian-style safety net programs. ‘If you commit a crime, if you commit fraud against public dollars, you are going to go to prison,’ Walz said to the outlet. Trump has called Minnesota a ‘hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.’

On Tuesday he claimed Somali immigrants ‘do nothing but [expletive]’ about the US and should ‘go back to where they came from.’ Trump added: ‘Their country’s no good for a reason. Their country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country.’ He said the US was ‘at a tipping point’ that ‘could go one way or the other.’ ‘We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,’ Trump said. The Daily Mail has reached out to Walz and Jensen for further comment.