Not Just in Minnesota: Here’s Examples of Fraud in Red States
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Across the United States, the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted historic levels of federal relief spending—from unemployment insurance and small business loans to nutrition and housing assistance. While some online personalities, including YouTuber Nick Shirley, have recently amplified claims about Minnesota’s fraud scandals with viral videos, the underlying issue of pandemic-era fraud goes far beyond any single state or social media narrative. Verified court cases and federal enforcement actions show that misuse of taxpayer funds occurred in states of all political stripes, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities in oversight and enforcement that affected red states just as much as blue ones. 2020s Minnesota fraud scandals - Wikipedia
In Minnesota, federal prosecutors have uncovered some of the largest pandemic-era fraud schemes in U.S. history. The nonprofit Feeding Our Future, once positioned as a provider of meals to underserved children, was accused of misappropriating more than $250 million in federal child nutrition funds while delivering few actual services. The organization’s founder and several associates were convicted of wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy related to the scheme. Prosecutors said defendants used falsified documentation, shell entities, and inflated claims to siphon taxpayer dollars for luxury cars, homes, and travel abroad. Feeding Our Future - Wikipedia
Beyond Feeding Our Future, federal indictments and convictions in Minnesota span other pandemic relief programs as well. An Edina man was charged with submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications using reactivated dormant business entities to steal nearly $975,000 in relief funds. Other defendants in Minneapolis were accused of securing more than $1 million in pandemic aid through bogus invoices and loan applications tied to county relief programs. District of Minnesota | Edina Man Indicted in $975,000 Covid Fraud Scheme | United States Department of Justice
But pandemic fraud was not confined to Minnesota. Federal and state courts have handled numerous cases in red states—illustrating that no single region or political climate was immune to the opportunistic exploitation of emergency programs.
In Florida, federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Florida indicted 11 people, including multiple Tampa Bay area residents, for conspiring to defraud the Small Business Administration out of more than $2.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. According to the indictment, the group submitted fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans by overstating payrolls and falsifying business operations. These kinds of loan fraud schemes were a central feature of pandemic relief abuse nationwide. $2.2M COVID relief fraud scheme: 10 Floridians among 11 indicted | FOX 13 Tampa Bay
Texas has seen its own high-profile relief fraud prosecutions. In late 2025, a federal jury in Sherman sentenced a co-founder of a PPP lender service provider to 10 years in prison after she and her associates were convicted for orchestrating a $63 million fraudulent PPP loan scheme that spanned the pandemic period. Jurors heard that the group fabricated payroll records, tax documentation, and bank statements to secure inflated loan amounts and steer proceeds to insiders. Office of Public Affairs | Co-Founder of Paycheck Protection Program Lender Service Provider Sentenced for $63M COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme | United States Department of Justice
In Georgia, an ongoing trend of unemployment insurance fraud illustrates a different pathway of abuse. Former Georgia state House member Karen Bennett was federally indicted for making false statements in a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance application, collecting nearly $14,000 in benefits she was not entitled to while continuing to work. Similar cases have emerged in other states, underscoring how unemployment benefit systems were exploited when safeguards were loosened during the height of the crisis. Former Georgia Rep. Bennett accused of lying to get unemployment | AP News
The story of fraud is not limited to these individual cases. National audits by the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated that pandemic unemployment insurance programs were vulnerable to $100 billion to $135 billion in fraud and improper payments, with thousands of false claims filed across states regardless of political control. The rapid rollout of expanded benefits and relaxed verification requirements meant that fraudsters could easily exploit gaps in controls. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: States' Controls to Address Fraud | U.S. GAO
Experts say these examples from red states are part of a broader pattern in which emergency relief programs, however well-intentioned, were strained by the sheer volume of need and rapid deployment of funds. Oversight agencies soon found themselves chasing cases from Florida to Georgia to Texas—not just in Minnesota. As authorities continue investigations and reform proposals, the widespread nature of pandemic fraud across diverse states highlights the importance of strengthening accountability mechanisms in federal and state relief programs to protect taxpayer dollars in future national emergencies.
Note: This story includes links to reporting and official sources where available.
Notes on verification and accuracy:
Major documented fraud in Minnesota centers on the Feeding Our Future case—one of the largest COVID-19 relief fraud prosecutions in U.S. history, in which federal prosecutors charged dozens of individuals for diverting funds meant for child nutrition during the pandemic. Feeding Our Future - Wikipedia
Claims in social media videos (including those by Nick Shirley) have not been verified as evidence of widespread fraud at daycare centers; investigations by authorities found limited substantiated wrongdoing, and many of the viral allegations have been debunked. 2020s Minnesota fraud scandals - Wikipedia
Broader pandemic fraud—such as fraudulent PPP applications, EIDL loan schemes, and UI benefit fraud—has been prosecuted in large numbers in multiple jurisdictions, including in traditionally Republican or “red” states like Florida and others. Department of Justice | Homepage
