An OLA audit found that the Minnesota Department of Health Services created and backdated records to mislead auditors.
Governor Tim Walz appointed Shireen Gandhi as temporary commissioner of DHS in February. They will both be investigated.
An OLA performance audit released January 5, 2026, found “widespread failures” in how DHS’s Behavioral Health Administration managed hundreds of millions of dollars in mental health and substance‑use grants.
The Cover Up
According to the report, Department of Health Services staff created documentation after the audit had already begun and backdated it to make it appear as if required monitoring visits and oversight steps had happened months earlier.
Sometimes, the cover-ups are more problematic for corrupt politicians and their appointees. They can’t feign ignorance.
The auditors:
The audit found that the Behavioral Health Administration failed basic oversight on a massive scale, as it doled out more than $425 million in grants to 830 grantees between mid-2022 and the end of 2024.
In many cases, the agency could not prove it had ever checked whether services taxpayers paid for were actually delivered.
Key failures cited by the OLA:
- Missing or late progress reports for over half of the sampled grant agreements.
- Missing documentation for dozens of required monitoring visits.
- For 24 visits involving 11 grantees, DHS produced no documentation at all.
- One DHS grant manager approved roughly $672,648 in payments to a grantee, then left the agency to work for that same organization, a serious conflict of interest.
- An internal DHS employee survey found that about 73% said they do not receive enough training to manage grants properly.
No one was minding the taxpayer’s money. The flaws are systemic. Check out the X posts. Democrats are excited that Amy Klobuchar might run for governor.They should rethink that.
– OLA Performed Site Visits
– Grant Monitoring: Financial Reconciliations
– OLA Performed Financial Reconciliations
– BHA Closeout Evaluations pic.twitter.com/OJvJf7PY0Q— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 6, 2026
🚨 Dr. Oz just TORCHED Tim Walz for failing to protect taxpayer dollars and abandoning the most vulnerable Minnesotans who rely on these services.
Here is the appropriation amount and the supporters of the earmark.
Rep. Ilhan Omar
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Sen. Tina Smith pic.twitter.com/mcAUQr4q9C— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 6, 2026
Accountability is coming. pic.twitter.com/fTIKbLEO6q
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 7, 2026
Ellison is not going to act. He is a Moslem, supports radical Moslems, and has his own scandals. Princess Bondi will likely not act. If she does, it will require huge pressure, and her acts would be minimal. These scandals get lots of coverage, as they should, but then when the USA AG obstructs, very few sources cover that. How… Read more »
The entire state of Minnesota is corrupt, perhaps irreparably. I would suggest we trade MN to Canada for Alberta. Both would fit in better with their new countries.