State Government Scandal Tracker

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1				Email corrections or tips
2		Month/ Year	Type of scandal	Scandal series	Waste/Fraud/ Abuse of tax $$$	State agency involved	Description	Link

3	1	Sep-13	Data breach	MNsure		MN.IT, MNsure	Data breach at MNsure exposes personal information and Social Security numbers of 2,400 Minnesotans
4	2	Oct-13	IT failure	MNsure		MN.IT, MNsure	MNsure health exchange debuts with major technical problems including site crashes and hours-long wait times
5	3	Dec-13	Mismanagement	MNsure		MN.IT, MNsure	MNsure's executive director resigns after being criticized for taking a two-week vacation to Costa Rica while MNsure was in shambles
6	4	Jan-14	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	Governor	Audit finds Gov. Dayton's office concealed payments to future Supreme Court appointee David Lillehaug despite public statements the work was pro bono
7	5	Apr-14	Mismanagement	MNLARS		MN.IT, Dept. of Public Safety	Audit finds "culture of distrust" at state agency managing vehicle license and registration system overhaul (a.k.a. MNLARS).
8	6	Aug-14	IT failure			Office of Higher Education	Data breach at Office of Higher Education exposes personal information of 1,300 student loan applicants
9	7	Feb-15	Mismanagement	MNsure		MN.IT, MNsure	Legislative audit finds officials knew about MNsure's issues before launch; and its "failures outweighed its achievements"
10	8	Mar-15	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	IRRRB	Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) criticized for giving DFL fundraising call center a $250,000 loan that was never paid back
11	9	Aug-15	Data breach			Dept. of Corrections, Dept. of Public Safety	Two data breaches at Department of Corrections and Department of Public Safety expose personal information of 7,000 Minnesotans
12	10	Sep-15	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	MnDOT	Report finds bus companies owned by Transportation Commissioner Charles Zelle received 98% of state subsidies for rural bus routes in 2013
13	11	Jan-16	Mismanagement	MNsure	Yes	MN.IT, MNsure, DHS	Legislative audit finds up to $271 million tax dollars wasted on MNsure subsidies to people ineligible for the aid
14	12	Mar-16	Mismanagement		Yes	IRRRB	Legislative audit finds IRRRB-owned resort is subsidized by millions of tax dollars each year despite exploding losses of +535% over 9 years
15	13	Feb-17	IT failure	MNsure, METS	Yes	DHS	DHS-commissioned audit finds 17% error rate in its Medical Assistance eligibility software system (METS)
16	14	Feb-17	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority	Two officials resign after report reveals MN Sports Facilities Authority used taxpayer subsidized Vikings suites to wine and dine friends, DFL politicians
17	15	May-17	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	CEO of non-profit Community Action of Minneapolis sentenced to 4 years in prison for stealing $800,000 in state aid for low-income heating assistance
18	16	Jul-17	Mismanagement	Child care assistance fraud	Yes	DHS	Fraud ring posing as personal care attendants in Hennepin County charged with stealing $7.7 million in aid for the disabled
19	17	Jul-17	IT failure	MNLARS		MN.IT, Dept. of Public Safety	MNLARS system debuts with major issues leading to months-long delays for some transactions
20	18	Dec-17	Mismanagement	Elder abuse		Dept. of Health	Department of Health (MDH) employees say abuse allegations from elder care facilities were thrown in the trash
21	19	Feb-18	Mismanagement	MNLARS		MN.IT, Dept. of Public Safety	Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) employee's secret recordings reveal Gov. Dayton's office was warned of MNLARS disaster two years before its launch
22	20	Mar-18	Mismanagement	Elder abuse		Dept. of Health	Legislative audit finds backlog of elder abuse allegations rooted in "poor management," toxic culture at state agency
23	21	Mar-18	Mismanagement	MNLARS	Yes	MN.IT, Dept. of Public Safety	MNIT chief fired after audit finds he knew about MNLARS defects before its rollout, then paid $45,000 not to sue for wrongful termination
24	22	Apr-18	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS fails to send bills to MinnesotaCare enrollees, refuses to attempt to collect $30 million in unpaid premiums
25	23	May-18	Mismanagement	Child care assistance fraud	Yes	DHS	Investigation uncovers potentially hundreds of millions worth of fraud in child care assistance program
26	24	Sep-18	Data breach			DHS	Three data breaches over 6 months at DHS expose personal information of 34,000 Minnesotans, including Social Security numbers of 24,000
27	25	Oct-18	Mismanagement	Child care assistance fraud	Yes	DHS	DHS Inspector General spends $90,000 to hire outside firm to investigate her own employees
28	26	Feb-19	Mismanagement	MNLARS		MN.IT, Dept. of Public Safety	Legislative audit finds MNLARS failure was due to state agency leaders' lack of oversight
29	27	Mar-19	Mismanagement	Child care assistance fraud	Yes	DHS	Legislative audit finds "pervasive" fraud in child care assistance program
30	28	Mar-19	Mismanagement	Child care assistance fraud		DHS	DHS Inspector General placed on investigative leave after audit finds “significant distrust” between staff and management
31	29	Mar-19	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	IRRRB	IRRRB tailors a six-figure job for a losing DFL congressional candidate who later resigns when the back-door deal becomes public
32	30	May-19	Mismanagement	MNLARS	Yes	MN.IT, Dept. of Public Safety	Report recommends scrapping MNLARS system altogether after $100 million wasted over 9 years of development
33	31	May-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services orders DHS to pay back $48 million in funds improperly paid to providers
34	32	Jun-19	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	IRRRB	IRRRB official who accepted $166,000 in early retirement buyout is hired back a month later
35	33	Jul-19	Mismanagement	Child care assistance fraud	Yes	DHS	DHS Inspector General paid $42,000 over three months while waiting for investigation to begin
36	34	Jul-19	Cronyism/corruption			DHS	DHS compliance worker claims management retaliated against her for reporting serious legal problems with state contracts
37	35	Jul-19	Mismanagement			DHS	Several top leaders at DHS resign without explanation, including the commissioner
38	36	Jul-19	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	Dept. of Corrections	Deputy commissioner of Corrections resigns during investigation into complaints she misused her position to secure state grants for husband's non-profit
39	37	Aug-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS admits to overpaying Indian tribes $29 million in Medicaid which must be repaid to federal government
40	38	Aug-19	Data breach			Met Council	Data breach at Met Council exposes personal information of 15,200 Metro Mobility customers
41	39	Sep-19	Cronyism/corruption			Legislature	DFL legislator resigns from UMN after internal emails reveal preferential treatment in hiring process for job created to 'debunk' research by 'right wing think tank'
42	40	Sep-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS reveals MinnesotaCare enrollees were overbilled $1.8 million and must be refunded, citing issues with automatic payment system
43	41	Oct-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	Federal audit finds DHS spent at least $3.7M on Medicaid coverage for dead people from 2014-2016
44	42	Oct-19	Mismanagement	Elder abuse		DHS	Federal watchdog agency finds DHS has gotten worse at investigating the most serious elder abuse allegations, missing the federal deadline 60% of the time	http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-health-regulators-often-fail-to-respond-rapidly-to-nursing-home-abuse-complaints/563662432/?refresh=true
45	43	Oct-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	Legislative audit finds "troubling dysfunction" and lack of responsibility at DHS led to years of overpayments to tribes	https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/dhsover.pdf
46	44	Oct-19	IT failure		Yes	DHS	Investigation finds $600 million MnChoices disability assistance software crashes regularly, has 32% eligibilty error rate, and costs 10 times more than expected	http://m.startribune.com/disparities-dog-system-to-distribute-disability-services/563636552/
47	45	Nov-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	Public records reveal state agencies habitually break state contract and spending laws, with over 1,800 violations reported in one year	https://www.twincities.com/2019/11/13/mn-dhs-violated-state-law-but-so-did-nearly-every-other-state-agency/
48	46	Nov-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS reveals $22 million more in improper spending that must be repaid to the federal government; $13 million of which accrued after the error was reported	http://www.startribune.com/financial-woes-mount-at-minnesota-dhs-as-costly-mistakes-now-hit-counties/565109972/
49	47	Nov-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS illegally instructed counties and Indian tribes to claw back $727,000 in overpayments to poor people, which must now be returned	same as above
50	48	Nov-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS's failure to issue timely guidance led to $624,000 in improper county payments to foster homes that didn't meet federal background check requirements	same as above
51	49	Dec-19	Cronyism/corruption		Yes	DHS	Senior DHS official approved over $1 million in payments for non-profit while serving on its board, using tax dollars to double the group's revenue despite conflict of interest	http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-dhs-official-served-on-nonprofit-s-board-while-approving-public-payments/566257322/
52	50	Dec-19	Mismanagement		Yes	DHS	DHS spent $10,000 taxpayer dollars per year on dues to be a member of a nonprofit organization that lobbies state government on health insurance issues	same as above
53	51	Jan-20	Cronyism/corruption		No	DHS	Internal DHS audit finds a 200% increase in state law violations in the behavioral health division, and “several conflicts of interest" between DHS staff and vendors	http://www.startribune.com/audit-finds-weak-internal-controls-at-minnesota-department-of-human-services/567171062/
54	52	Jan-20	Mismanagement		No	Dept. of Corrections	Public records illegally deleted by the Department of Corrections during a five-month delay in fulfilling MinnPost's data practices request	https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2020/01/how-a-single-legislative-hearing-in-minnesota-managed-to-cost-20000/
55	53	Jan-20	Mismanagement		Yes	Dept. of Corrections	Investigation reveals a House of Representatives committee hearing at Stillwater prison cost taxpayers $20,000 and was a ‘significant disruption’ for the facility	"
56	54	Feb-20	Mismanagement		No	Dept. of Corrections	Audit of Minnesota prisons finds a dangerous environment for staff and prisoners and a workplace culture of staff bullying, retaliation, and sexual harassment	http://www.startribune.com/audit-staff-shortages-failure-to-track-assaults-contribute-to-danger-in-minnesota-prisons/568208782/?refresh=true
57	55	Feb-20	IT failure	METS	Yes	DHS	DHS disclosed as much as $28.9 million in Medicaid overpayments to health care providers due to a failure of METS that led to 47,000 duplicate accounts in the system	http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-medicaid-program-made-up-to-29-million-in-improper-payments-for-duplicate-accounts/568190332/?refresh=true
58	56	Mar-20	Mismanagement		No	Secretary of State	Secretary of State's pollfinder goes down on primary day; website is changed to redirect voters to a partisan organization that endorsed Democrat Elizabeth Warren	https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/4980408-Minn.-Secretary-of-State-pushes-voters-to-site-promoting-Elizabeth-Warren
59	57	Apr-20	Cronyism/corruption		No	Legislature	DFL Senator Erik Simonson is rewarded with an executive director job at Lake Superior College 45 days after sponsoring a bill to secure the college $1M in bonding cash	https://www.startribune.com/duluth-s-lake-superior-zoo-ceo-departs-for-new-job/569295842/
60	58	May-20	Mismanagement		Yes	DEED	DEED issues unemployment payments to high schoolers who don't qualify under Minnesota law	https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/high-school-students-receive-unemployment-benefits-now-the-state-wants-the-money-back/89-7dd8d5e1-c530-4c2c-abe2-073e5fe94fd0
61	59	May-20	Mismanagement		No	MDH		https://www.startribune.com/botched-virus-testing-at-st-paul-nursing-home-brings-anger-apologies/570645472/
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