Minnesota’s fraud scandal has an Arizona sequel

Over the past two months, Minnesota’s widening fraud scandals have drawn national attention. Investigators and watchdogs have uncovered what appear to be major abuses of taxpayer dollars tied to fraudulent day care and health care operations, and Democrat officials who oversaw the programs look, at minimum, asleep at the switch.

Minnesota isn’t alone.

Arizona’s reputation rests on independence and straight dealing. Katie Hobbs and Kris Mayes have replaced that image with stonewalling, favoritism, and excuses.

In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) and Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) have spent the past three years building a record that looks less like competent governance and more like protection for a corrupt status quo. Again and again, their offices have resisted transparency, shielded allies, and resisted oversight — while Republicans in the legislature have tried to drag basic accountability back into view.

Whether in Minnesota, Arizona, or any other jurisdiction across the country, taxpayers deserve better than a government that treats disclosure as optional and oversight as an attack.

Inaugural fund secrecy

Arizona governors often raise private money to cover inaugural expenses and then transfer leftover funds to the state. Hobbs broke that norm. Her office resisted disclosing donor information and withheld more than $1 million that should have gone back to taxpayers, triggering a direct clash with the legislature.

Lawmakers responded by writing the old precedent into law: Future administrations must fully report inauguration fundraising and spending. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support — proof that this wasn’t a partisan gripe. Even Democrats understood that Hobbs had created a mess for herself.

A pay-to-play stench

The most serious cloud over Hobbs’ administration is an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving the Department of Child Safety.

The Arizona Republic reported that Sunshine Residential Homes, a for-profit group home operator with state contracts, received a significant rate increase approved under Hobbs’ administration after donating to Hobbs’ inaugural fund. The same request had been denied under the outgoing Republican administration.

The reporting also noted that Hobbs’ DCS did not approve comparable increases for other group homes. At the same time, the DCS ended contracts with 16 group homes — making Sunshine’s preferred treatment look even more suspect.

Mayes announced an investigation, then tried to push Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and the Arizona auditor general off the case — even though legislators had asked those offices to investigate. Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee publicly rejected Mayes’ attempt and urged the county and auditor investigations to continue.

Since then, Mayes’ office has offered little public clarity. Nearly two years without meaningful updates invites the obvious question: Was the “investigation” a press release designed to run out the clock?

Hobbs then vetoed a bill last session meant to close loopholes and prevent future executives from gaming the system.

SNAP: Fighting anti-fraud efforts

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program doles out nearly $100 billion a year. It also attracts fraud. The Government Accountability Office flagged $320 million in stolen benefits between October 2022 and December 2024. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2023 estimated that around 12% of SNAP benefits were fraudulent.

That should make anti-fraud measures easy to support.

Instead, Mayes sued the Trump administration over efforts to gather more information from states about SNAP beneficiaries. Hobbs refused to comply with data requests. Whatever one thinks about SNAP’s scope, no serious public servant should block reasonable efforts to root out fraud and protect taxpayers.

When elected officials fight transparency in a program that moves billions of dollars, they aren’t defending the vulnerable. They are protecting a system that invites abuse.

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Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A shady operator

Kris Mayes has other problems.

U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) has asked the Department of Justice to investigate allegations of a pay-to-play bribery scheme involving Mayes and outside political groups, claiming she traded official actions for political benefits.

And late last year, a top official in Mayes’ State Government Division was arrested on charges related to controlling and trafficking stolen property. The city of Peoria had reportedly warned Mayes’ office nearly two years earlier about serious allegations involving that official, yet she remained in a position of authority until her arrest.

Arizona’s reputation rests on independence and straight dealing. Hobbs and Mayes have replaced that image with stonewalling, favoritism, and excuses.

Voters should take note. If Arizonans want honest government, they will have to demand it — at the ballot box and through aggressive oversight — before the culture of corruption becomes permanent.