Vice President JD Vance is pressing federal prosecutors to investigate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud, amplifying concerns the White House will use a new Justice Department division to target political rivals. Vance cites in a letter to the Justice Department a report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee alleging Democrats Walz and Ellison were aware of pervasive misuse of government programs for years and let it flourish. A Walz spokesperson calls the House committee “nothing more than a joke." Ellison calls the allegations unfounded. The Justice Department hasn't responded to questions Tuesday about whether it'll open an investigation.

The former leader of a Minnesota nonprofit has been sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison for her role in a staggering $250 million fraud case. Aimee Bock ran Feeding Our Future, which had claimed it provided millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic. She appeared Thursday in Minneapolis federal court. Her lawyer had argued for a sentence of no more than three years, saying she had been unfairly painted as the mastermind. Authorities later announced charges against 15 more people accused of fraud in receiving federal payments for a variety of social services in Minnesota.