By Kimberly Hayek

The Treasury Department is investigating claims that Minnesota taxpayer funds were stolen by fraudulent nonprofits and rerouted to the Al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia, according to Secretary Scott Bessent on Dec. 1.

Bessent made the announcement on social media platform X, just days after President Donald Trump eliminated temporary deportation protections for Somalis living in Minnesota. Trump, in his announcement on Nov. 21, also called Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and accused Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of failing to deter such crimes in the state.

Bessent said that “under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden administration and Gov. Tim Walz, hard-working Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.”

This story will be updated with additional details.