An exchange on CBS News’ Face the Nation between host Margaret Brennan and Scott Bessent, the Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, focused on a large-scale welfare fraud case in Minnesota that has been under federal investigation for several years.

Brennan raised the issue near the end of the interview, referencing public remarks by President Donald Trump and asking for clarity on the scope of the investigation.

“Before I let you go, I want to ask you about this massive fraud out in Minnesota and the state welfare program has been under federal investigation since all the way back in 2022 the President told you, though this week, to look into Somalis who, quote, ripped off that state for billions of dollars. He said they contribute nothing. What exactly are you investigating?” Brennan asked.

Bessent responded by emphasizing that the investigation originated with federal authorities, not state officials.

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“Well, Margaret, to be clear, the initial fraud that was discovered by the IRS for which I'm the Acting Commissioner, is discovered by IRS Criminal Investigations Unit. This was not an endogenous thing that the state of Minnesota decided we had to go in and clean up the mess for them, and this is part of the continued cleanup,” Bessent said.

He went on to describe the financial trail associated with the alleged fraud, noting political donations made by some of the individuals involved.

“A lot of money has been transferred via from the individuals who committed this fraud, including those who donated to the government governor, donated to represent Omar, and donated to AG Ellison, but they've been transferred to something called MBS is the and those are...” Bessent said before being interrupted.

Brennan sought clarification, asking, “Transferred to what?”

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“These are money the bureau services, and they are wire transfer organizations that are outside the regulated banking system, and that money has gone overseas, and we are tracking that the both to the Middle East and to Somalia to see what the uses of that have been,” Bessent said.

Brennan pressed further, referencing claims circulating in conservative media.

“Okay, but you have no evidence of that money being used to fuel terrorism at this point, which is what some conservative writers are alleging,” she said.

Bessent replied that the investigation is ongoing and that conclusions have not yet been reached.

“That's why it's an investigation. We started it last week. We'll see where it goes,” he said.

He then criticized Representative Ilhan Omar for her public response to the fraud case.

“But I can tell you that, you know, it's terrible. You know, Representative Omar tried to downplay it. Said, Oh, it was very the it was very tough to know how this money should, should be used. You know, she, she was gaslighting the American people. We'll talk to her, yeah,” Bessent said.

Bessent also spoke more broadly about expectations for immigrants living in the United States.

“But you know, when you come to this country, you got to learn which side of the road to drive on. You got to learn to stop the stop signs, and you got to learn the not to defraud the American people,” he said.

Brennan closed the exchange by noting that criminal activity is not limited to any single group.

“Well, there are plenty of plenty of criminal behavior from communities well beyond the immigrant community, but we'll talk about this with Representative Omar shortly. Thank you, Mr. Secretary,” she said.

WATCH:

🚨 HOLY CRAP! Absolute MIC DROP from Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent on Ilhan Omar and Somali fraudsters 🫳🎤"When you come to this country, you gotta learn which side of the road to drive on, to stop at stop signs, and learn NOT TO DEFRAUD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE." 💯"Omar tried to… pic.twitter.com/ZIggMEWxyp

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 30, 2025

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