Vice President JD Vance announced Monday night that he had forwarded a criminal referral to the Justice Department (DOJ) regarding allegations of fraud against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, the state’s attorney general.
“I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation,” Vance said in a statement released on social media. “Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and [intimidated] whistleblowers, they must face justice.”
Vance was tapped by President Donald Trump to become his “fraud czar,” and the announcement represents Vance’s first major referral for criminal investigation.
Addressing alleged fraud has become a key priority in the second Trump administration, a priority that gained renewed attention in the wake of the controversial fraud investigation by influencer Nick Shirley into Somali daycares in Minnesota.
I’ve referred these allegations to DOJ’s new Fraud Division for criminal investigation. Minnesota state officials are not above the law, and if they facilitated fraud, lied under oath about what they knew, or harassed and intimated whistleblowers, they must face justice. https://t.co/EatSBh9Gh6pic.twitter.com/7JeFcgkTV0
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 9, 2026