Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent said the agency is investigating a major fraud case involving Somalis who allegedly moved billions out of Minnesota through unregulated money transfer networks.
During an exchange with Margaret Brennan, he said the scheme was first uncovered by federal investigators, not state officials, and that the IRS is now tracing where the funds were sent overseas.
Brennan opened the interview by asking about President Trump’s directive.
She said, “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?”
Bessent responded by emphasizing that the IRS Criminal Investigations Unit initiated the case.
He said, “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.”
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He said investigators have traced large sums of money transferred by individuals connected to the fraud, including donors to prominent Democratic officials.
Bessent explained, “A lot of money has been transferred 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 and those are…”
Brennan interjected, asking, “Transferred to what?”
Bessent clarified the nature of the financial channels involved.
He said, “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.”
Brennan pressed him on allegations regarding terrorism, saying, “Okay, but you have no evidence of that money being used to fuel terrorism, which is what some conservative writers are alleging.”
Bessent said the investigation is active and ongoing.
He responded, “That’s why it’s an investigation. We started it last week. We’ll see where it goes.” He criticized Representative Ilhan Omar for her public comments, stating, “But I can tell you that, you know, it’s terrible. 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. She was gaslighting the American people.”
Bessent concluded by saying that immigrants must respect American laws, adding, “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.”
WATCH:
Scott Bessent is a quiet assassin. Bad ass.pic.twitter.com/LDbykX3wHi
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) December 7, 2025
