Scott Bessent said ‘I don’t know anything about that’ when asked why DHS paid $495 million for a prison once offered to Minnesota for $75 million

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a press conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to announce the government’s “War on Fraud” agenda. The briefing covered past indictments, money the administration has recovered, and coordination efforts to resolve past concerns and combat future problems. During the event, Bessent dismissed a question from KARE 11 as a waste of time.

The outlet recently investigated the federal government’s purchase of a private prison in Appleton, Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security reportedly bought the abandoned CoreCivic prison for $495 million to use as an ICE facility, a year after it had been offered to the state for $75 million.

KARE 11’s Lou Raguse asked Bessent, “If the administration has declared war on waste and fraud, could you explain the $420 million overpayment for a prison in Appleton, Minnesota, when the company offered it to the state of Minnesota for $75 million?” Bessent responded, “I don’t know anything about that.” He added, “What we are here to do is to prosecute criminal fraud, and any question like that, that deflects away from it, I think is a waste of our time, thanks.”

The briefing announced initiatives to fix fraud in Minnesota

St. Cloud Live reported that the press conference was held at the St. Cloud Police Department and featured several high-ranking officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel. Bessent also announced initiatives to combat fraud, including a whistleblower program offering up to $30,000 for tips that lead to convictions or enforcement actions.

Bessent described Minnesota as ground zero for fraud during the event. According to the outlet, he alleged that Governor Tim Walz had “turned a blind eye” to fraud, calling the situation an epidemic. He said, “That is why I visited Minnesota in January to make clear that the U.S. Treasury is deploying every tool to bring an end to this egregious, unchecked fraud and hold perpetrators to account.”

According to The Hill, Bessent argued that Democrats are letting fraud happen in their states. “The Democrats let this happen on their watch. It’s going on everywhere, and we’re going to track them down. But I can tell you that the guardrails tend to be loosest in the Democratic states,” he said.

He reportedly called “the lack of oversight” from the Attorney General’s office and the Walz administration “shocking,” suggesting that Minnesota likely has one of the largest fraud totals in the country as a percentage of dollars. Bessent also reportedly acknowledged that fraud happens in Republican-led states too. The Hill noted that a 2023 congressional study identified Texas as having the highest amount of Medicaid fraud dollars in 2022.

KARE 11’s investigation also noted that the Appleton sale was one of several transactions CoreCivic made with the federal government this year. The outlet reported that CoreCivic previously donated $500,000 to the Trump-Vance inaugural committee.

In a written statement to KARE 11, CoreCivic said independent appraisers used a cost-based methodology and that “The federal government ultimately determined the sale price following its assessment process.” Following KARE 11’s report, Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called on Congress to investigate the sale.

According to St. Cloud Live, Patel said the bureau is committed to rooting out fraud. “This FBI follows the money,” Patel said. “This FBI will put in prison anyone who commits fraud anywhere in the world against any American citizen. We delivered for the American people, and we’re going to continue manhunting fraudsters in every corner of the earth.”