Trump Admin Readying Body Blow to Welfare Fraudsters Wiring Tax Dollars Out of U.S., Bessent Says

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent indicated Thursday that the Trump administration would be taking steps to stop anyone who receives welfare from wiring money to places outside the United States. In an appearance on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Bessent revealed the administration will now require those on public assistance to identify their welfare status when visiting "money service businesses" with the intention of wiring money to other countries.

BESSENT: From now on, anyone who wires money out, from one of these money service businesses, has to check a box saying whether they are on public assistance. And, if you are on public assistance, we're going to start pushing that you cannot wire money out of the country.

When asked by host Laura Ingraham what the government will do if welfare recipients lie, Bessent responded, "We're going to follow it up and we're going to push [so] that you can no longer do that. The American people – our generosity – has been taken advantage of."

READ MORE: DOJ Surges Additional U.S. Attorneys to Minnesota As They Wade Through Deluge of Fraud

Here’s How Trump Brought Accountability to MN – and Torched Tim Walz’s Political Career in the Process

Ingraham noted that taxpayer money could be funding al Shabaab, a Somalia-based terror group with ties to al Qaeda that has been officially designated a terrorist organization by the United States, and Iranian interests, to which Bessent said, "The money is supposed to go for alleged asylum seekers and their families and children – and if you are wiring the money out of the country, one of two things must be true: you are getting too much money and your benefits should be cut, or you are part of this conspiracy. Where did that money come from? We're gonna find out. That's what Treasury does."

🚨 JUST IN: Sec. Scott Bessent is now moving to BAN anyone that receives government assistance from wiring money out of the country after Somali fraudsters were caught in Minnesota

"If you are wiring out of the country, you're either getting TOO MUCH or you're part of this… pic.twitter.com/TMfbNPo1b5

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 9, 2026

Bessent and the Treasury Department have been looking at the possibility that taxpayer money pilfered as part of the estimated $9 billion Somali fraud scandal in Minnesota was sent to international terror organizations for over a month now. In a tweet from early December, the secretary said the administration was "investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab."

At my direction, @USTreasury is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.

Thanks to the leadership of… https://t.co/uillMknuXL

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) December 1, 2025

At my direction, @USTreasury is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.

Thanks to the leadership of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, we are acting fast to ensure Americans’ taxes are not funding acts of global terror.

We will share our findings as our investigation continues.

At a House Oversight Committee hearing earlier this week, Republican Rep. Brandon Gill (TX-26) brought the receipts on how many Somali households in Minnesota were receiving some kind of public assistance. From RedState's reporting:

Top of mind for Gill seemed to be how much of the state's resources, aside from the fraudulent activity, are being drained by the Somali community living there. "Do you know what percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on food stamps? 54%," Gill asked Ballou.

Gill was just getting started.

"Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households?" Gill asked.

Ballou began to respond but was cut off by more questions from Gill.

"Well, to be clear, a majority of —" Ballou began. 

"It's 7%," Gill interjected. "There's a big difference between 54% and 7%, no?"

"You're using the phrase ‘native Minnesotans’ — the majority of Somali Minnesotans are as Minnesotan as any of us. They were born in the United States," Ballou fired back, noting that there could be some overlap between Gill's numbers.

In a Friday press conference held in Minneapolis, Bessent said the Treasury Department was already tracking where the money went and investigating and auditing financial institutions that may have failed in their duty to safeguard American interests.

Somali Fraud Press Conference https://t.co/MSdhwfA1Ny

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) January 9, 2026

Accountability and justice appear to finally be coming for the fraudsters.