New Scandal Erupts in MN After Dem-Appointed Judge Tosses $7.2M Taxpayer-Fraud Conviction

We might need to rethink this whole "Minnesota nice" thing. While the vast majority of the state's residents are likely to be kind, generous souls with good Germanic and Nordic hearts, their public officials are not exactly covering themselves in glory these days.

For instance, Tim Walz. It's hard to know where to start with the scandals surrounding Minnesota's Democrat governor – and Kamala Harris's former running mate – but perhaps the most recent one is a good place. As RedState has been reporting, it's looking a whole lot like Walz oversaw or, at the very least, turned a blind eye to over $1 billion in taxpayer money being stolen by the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal allegedly perpetrated by some in the state's Somali community (more on that here).

Walz's mismanagement has certainly put the state on the map, and not in a good way. As our own Bob Hoge noted earlier Wednesday, the Trump administration has reportedly deployed over 100 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minneapolis to track down Somalis who are in the country illegally and give them a one-way ticket home.

Things Are Really Heating Up for Tim Walz As New Investigations Over Fraud Scandal Drop

Sadly, it turns out that Tim Walz isn't the only public official failing Minnesotans right now. A story that has been gaining steam the last few days involves a Democrat-appointed judge by the name of Sarah West, who took it upon herself to negate the jury conviction of Abdifatah Yusuf, who, along with his wife, was found guilty on six charges of committing $7.2 million in Medicaid fraud. They used their ill-gotten gains to fund an extremely lavish lifestyle that most taxpayers can only dream of.

The attorney general's office said Yusuf received Medicaid money by billing for services not provided and services that lacked "any documentation," and overbilled for services.
Yusuf allegedly used the money to fund a "lavish lifestyle," including shopping sprees at luxury stores such as Coach, Michael Kors, Nike, Nordstrom and more.

It's been reported that "Yusuf funneled more than $1 million from their business to his personal account and withdrew over $387,000 in cash, according to the release."

Dem-appointed judge under fire for tossing $7M Medicaid fraud conviction tied to Minnesota couple’s ‘lavish lifestyle’ https://t.co/gfN8zAJiZ3 pic.twitter.com/RgkP23lH7G
— New York Post (@nypost) December 2, 2025

Judge West, who was appointed by Tim Walz's Democrat predecessor, Mark Dayton, decided to throw out Yusuf's conviction on "six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, over $35,000," with her reasoning being that the prosecution "relied heavily on circumstantial evidence."

Republican lawmakers in the state are calling out the judge as an "extremist" who's allowing her ideology to run her courtroom.

"Judicial reform is necessary in Minnesota… This wasn't an extreme situation," [state Sen. Michael] Holmstrom told Fox News Digital. "This is just how she operates."
"I think that she is a true extremist, that her ideology is running her courtroom and damaging our justice system. People in Minnesota are questioning whether or not the judicial system can be trusted. And with judges like this, I see why," he added.

The jury that returned the convictions isn't too pleased, either. Jury foreperson Ben Walfoort said it wasn't a difficult decision. Per Walfoort, "The deliberation took probably four hours at most. Based off of the state's evidence that was presented, it was beyond a reasonable doubt." He added, "I am shocked. I'm shocked based off of all of the evidence that was presented to us and the obvious guilt that we saw based off of the said evidence."

An extremist, Democrat-appointed judge run amok in Minnesota – who saw that one coming?

Editor's Note: Unelected federal judges are hijacking President Trump's agenda and insulting the will of the people

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