Walz permanently appoints state commissioner who oversaw fraud as audit uncovers scope of autism billing schemes
We're watching the same failure loop.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has permanently appointed Shireen Gandhi, the official who was in charge of financial operations at the Minnesota Department of Human Services at the time that large-scale fraud schemes targeted the state’s social services programs, as commissioner of the agency.
Gandhi’s permanent appointment comes as the department grapples with a third-party audit that exposed its failure to stop scammers from bilking state behavioral health programming out of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding.
‘Failure rewarded’
Before this week, Gandhi was serving as the temporary DHS commissioner, a stand-in for Jodi Harpstead, who resigned in February 2025 amid public scrutiny surrounding the agency’s oversight practices.
Walz, in his announcement on Monday, praised Gandhi, saying she “understands that protecting public programs and delivering high-quality care go hand in hand.”
“Over the past year, she has demonstrated steady, decisive leadership at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, strengthening program integrity, rooting out fraud, and ensuring taxpayer dollars reach the Minnesotans who rely on these services,” Walz said. “Shireen brings the experience and accountability needed to safeguard vital services while building a system Minnesotans can trust.”
In an accompanying press statement, Gandhi promised that, as commissioner, she will make Minnesota “a national model for program integrity.”
Gandhi, however, in a September 2025 interview, acknowledged that her team did not understand the complexity of the fraud scams that stole massive sums of Medicaid funds from the DHS’s housing assistance program.
“The claims coming into us looked legitimate on the face,” she said.
Records obtained by KARE 11, a local Minnesota news outlet, show that officials at the DHS actively ignored repeated warnings of fraud from concerned citizens, and even from government employees, that were submitted directly to the department.
In one case, the DHS received a tip that a sham service provider was approaching homeless people on the streets and offering cash so that they could falsely claim them as clients on the benefits form. No action was taken to address that report.
“Clients have stated that they are promised housing by this provider and are told that they will receive $50 if they get the PSN completed and generate referrals for the provider,” Hennepin County Social Services Manager Susannah King told the DHS in an April 2024 email.
Minnesota Staff …
We're watching the same failure loop.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has permanently appointed Shireen Gandhi, the official who was in charge of financial operations at the Minnesota Department of Human Services at the time that large-scale fraud schemes targeted the state’s social services programs, as commissioner of the agency.
Gandhi’s permanent appointment comes as the department grapples with a third-party audit that exposed its failure to stop scammers from bilking state behavioral health programming out of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding.
‘Failure rewarded’
Before this week, Gandhi was serving as the temporary DHS commissioner, a stand-in for Jodi Harpstead, who resigned in February 2025 amid public scrutiny surrounding the agency’s oversight practices.
Walz, in his announcement on Monday, praised Gandhi, saying she “understands that protecting public programs and delivering high-quality care go hand in hand.”
“Over the past year, she has demonstrated steady, decisive leadership at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, strengthening program integrity, rooting out fraud, and ensuring taxpayer dollars reach the Minnesotans who rely on these services,” Walz said. “Shireen brings the experience and accountability needed to safeguard vital services while building a system Minnesotans can trust.”
In an accompanying press statement, Gandhi promised that, as commissioner, she will make Minnesota “a national model for program integrity.”
Gandhi, however, in a September 2025 interview, acknowledged that her team did not understand the complexity of the fraud scams that stole massive sums of Medicaid funds from the DHS’s housing assistance program.
“The claims coming into us looked legitimate on the face,” she said.
Records obtained by KARE 11, a local Minnesota news outlet, show that officials at the DHS actively ignored repeated warnings of fraud from concerned citizens, and even from government employees, that were submitted directly to the department.
In one case, the DHS received a tip that a sham service provider was approaching homeless people on the streets and offering cash so that they could falsely claim them as clients on the benefits form. No action was taken to address that report.
“Clients have stated that they are promised housing by this provider and are told that they will receive $50 if they get the PSN completed and generate referrals for the provider,” Hennepin County Social Services Manager Susannah King told the DHS in an April 2024 email.
Minnesota Staff …
Walz permanently appoints state commissioner who oversaw fraud as audit uncovers scope of autism billing schemes
We're watching the same failure loop.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has permanently appointed Shireen Gandhi, the official who was in charge of financial operations at the Minnesota Department of Human Services at the time that large-scale fraud schemes targeted the state’s social services programs, as commissioner of the agency.
Gandhi’s permanent appointment comes as the department grapples with a third-party audit that exposed its failure to stop scammers from bilking state behavioral health programming out of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding.
‘Failure rewarded’
Before this week, Gandhi was serving as the temporary DHS commissioner, a stand-in for Jodi Harpstead, who resigned in February 2025 amid public scrutiny surrounding the agency’s oversight practices.
Walz, in his announcement on Monday, praised Gandhi, saying she “understands that protecting public programs and delivering high-quality care go hand in hand.”
“Over the past year, she has demonstrated steady, decisive leadership at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, strengthening program integrity, rooting out fraud, and ensuring taxpayer dollars reach the Minnesotans who rely on these services,” Walz said. “Shireen brings the experience and accountability needed to safeguard vital services while building a system Minnesotans can trust.”
In an accompanying press statement, Gandhi promised that, as commissioner, she will make Minnesota “a national model for program integrity.”
Gandhi, however, in a September 2025 interview, acknowledged that her team did not understand the complexity of the fraud scams that stole massive sums of Medicaid funds from the DHS’s housing assistance program.
“The claims coming into us looked legitimate on the face,” she said.
Records obtained by KARE 11, a local Minnesota news outlet, show that officials at the DHS actively ignored repeated warnings of fraud from concerned citizens, and even from government employees, that were submitted directly to the department.
In one case, the DHS received a tip that a sham service provider was approaching homeless people on the streets and offering cash so that they could falsely claim them as clients on the benefits form. No action was taken to address that report.
“Clients have stated that they are promised housing by this provider and are told that they will receive $50 if they get the PSN completed and generate referrals for the provider,” Hennepin County Social Services Manager Susannah King told the DHS in an April 2024 email.
Minnesota Staff …
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