President Donald Trump’s administration has confirmed that former President Joe Biden’s administration likely distributed roughly $84.6 million in “ineligible assistance” to Minnesota, including nearly $500,000 for “dead tenants.”
The New York Post reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been investigating billions of dollars in housing assistance that was distributed under the Biden administration. The outlet cited officials and documents that indicated that the Biden administration likely made approximately $84.6 million in erroneous payments in Fiscal Year 2024.
According to The New York Post, the $84.6 million in erroneous payments includes $496,000 in housing assistance that was improperly distributed to 509 dead tenants and $246,000 that was distributed to 20 individuals with unverified Social Security numbers. The New York Post reported that the unverified Social Security numbers indicated that the individuals were likely not U.S. citizens.
“Biden’s HUD failed the people of Minnesota — paying dead people while vulnerable families were left behind,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner said in a statement obtained by The New York Post.
“This gross level of mismanagement and failure to safeguard American taxpayer dollars is unacceptable,” Turner added. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are holding bad actors accountable and will continue to root out rampant fraud in Minnesota and across the country.”
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In a recent interview, Turner explained that the Trump administration currently has “boots on the ground” investigating fraud in Minnesota.
“Through our fraud prevention, we have found that there is likely over $84 million in ineligible assistance that was given to the state of Minnesota during the Biden administration, including almost $500,000 in improper assistance to over 500 dead tenants,” Turner said.
“This is a lack of stewardship; it’s gross negligence,” the secretary of Housing and Urban Development added. “But I’m grateful at this time that our team on the ground has found these improper payments, and we will hold those accountable that are responsible for this.”
The New York Post reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has flagged $5.8 billion in “questionable” rental assistance payments distributed across the country by the Biden administration in 2024. The outlet noted that the “questionable” payments include payments to approximately 30,000 “deceased tenants” and “thousands” of individuals who may have been non-citizens.
According to The New York Post, 11 percent of the $5.8 billion in questionable funding was distributed to over 200,000 tenants who may have been ineligible to receive assistance, including 29,715 tenants flagged as potentially deceased, 165,393 tenants who received funding greater than the assistance threshold for their designated region, and 9,472 tenants flagged as non-citizens.
