By J. Patrick Coolican | Editor-in-chief
Good morning, Reformers.
A couple months ago Madi McVan came to me with a crazy idea. Her colleague Max Nesterak had published a few compelling stories based off the more than 1,100 habeas corpus filings since Operation Metro Surge in December – that’s when someone makes a claim that they’ve been wrongly detained.
Madi wanted to digitize all the filings. The problem is that they aren’t part of the online federal court filings system known as PACER. You have to go to a federal courthouse, print them out and scan them. She said this would take two weeks, but would yield important information about the people impacted by Metro Surge and the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.
I like crazy journalistic ideas, so I said go for it.
Madi dropped her first story about the filings today. It’s about all the people who filed habeas petitions who had valid work permits. They were given permission to work in the United States, and yet they were detained, and, in some cases, deported. It’s an absorbing and maddening read, featuring a Venezuelan couple and their three children.
And a special shoutout to Nicole Neri, who is our contract photographer thanks to a grant from the Bush Foundation. Nicole’s images for this story are powerful.
(You can help us pursue more of this kind of ambitious journalism with a donation.)
To the rest of the news:
Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley and Republican activist David Hoch, who posted viral videos about alleged fraud by child care providers in Minnesota, film a video before Trump administration officials announce 15 indictments for Medicaid fraud in Minneapolis on May 21, 2026. (Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer)
By Max Nesterak
Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, said those charged treated disabled people like “lottery tickets” to steal millions in taxpayer dollars, which they spent on luxury cars, real estate and expensive jewelry.
“My message to the fraudsters is this: eat, drink, and be merry today because your days of frolicking and freedom are numbered,” McDonald said.
McDonald also announced the expansion of the Midwest Healthcare Strike Force team with additional prosecutors in Minnesota, and the creation of a new Medicaid strike force team with 15 attorneys across the country.
Separately, shoutout to Max for asking McDonald a cogent question during the news conference.
Nesterak: President Trump has granted clemency to numerous individuals who have stolen hundreds of millions in Medicaid funds. Can we expect any of these folks to be shown the same mercy?
McDONALD: I'll take a different question.
Yeah, no kidding.
By Alyssa Chen
Aimee Bock, convicted for leading a $242 million pandemic relief fraud scheme known as Feeding Our Future, has been sentenced to 500 months — over 41 years — in prison.
“This was a vortex of fraud, and you were at the epicenter,” said U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel to Bock during the sentencing hearing on Thursday morning at the Minneapolis federal courthouse.
Bock, 45, was the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit that recruited people to open over 250 child nutrition sites, which were eligible for federal money. The sites fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day almost immediately. Feeding Our Future submitted fraudulent claims to the Minnesota Department of Education, which was tasked with overseeing the program. Feeding Our Future disbursed the money in exchange for $18 million in kickbacks, prosecutors said.
By J. Patrick Coolican
Qualls has had one key decision to make so far: Choosing a running mate who could be governor on day one in case something happens to him. His vetting of Nicholson, however, resembles a massage spa hiring Edward Scissorhands — several litigants have accused Nicholson and his companies of malfeasance.
I read through a raft of litigation against Nicholson and companies associated with him, and it’s not pretty.
IN OTHER NEWS
Former northern Minnesota DFL party official pleads guilty to vehicular homicide | Reformer via KAXE
US Senate GOP punts immigration bill amid big split with Trump over settlement fund | Reformer via States Newsroom
Jan. 6 police officers sue Trump over $1.776B ‘taxpayer-funded slush fund’ | Reformer via States Newsroom
Barney Frank, RIP | Washington Post obit gift link
Why Steve Kerr stayed with the Warriors | Fascinating profile in ESPN
OH BY THE WAY
I was going to write something about Ken Martin and his 2024 autopsy debacle, but it’s hardly worth our time, as Michelle Goldberg puts it: “The document, it’s now clear, was kept under wraps not because it was impolitic, but because it’s a disaster.”
As in, the work of a college intern, not a wise and sober political analysis.
Instead, I’ll point you to something more profound, as we enter a solemn weekend of remembrance.
Adam Serwer makes a powerful argument for non-violent resistance (gift link), using Minnesota as a fulcrum. It’s a powerful argument because it rests on what works:
“Sustained political violence requires people with a relatively rare set of traits — the willingness and ability to kill among them — that limit participation. Nonviolent campaigns, by contrast, can draw from all sectors of society: Think of the protesters in Minneapolis, the moms and dads ferrying food to immigrant families in hiding, the observers and ‘commuters’ who tracked ICE officers and tried to draw attention to their actions. Nonviolent methods are also more likely to build broad coalitions and foster high-level defections, because officials do not fear being killed by the opposition. Perhaps more important, the skills and social bonds built through nonviolent struggle are more conducive to the kind of society Trump opponents want to build — a multiracial democracy where people of all backgrounds can thrive.”
Song of the day is Bruce Springsteen doing “When the Saints Go Marching In” live in Dublin.
Correspond: [email protected]
Have a great weekend all! After today, I’m gone until Thursday, so leave me alone. JPC
Thanks for reading Daily Reformer. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.