The Resident Solution · Directive 01

State
Accountability
& Forensic
Intervention

A full forensic audit of every dollar the State of Minnesota spends — no exceptions, no insiders, no cover.

You pay your taxes. You deserve to know exactly where that money goes. Not a summary. Not a press release. Not a number a politician approved before it reached you. A full forensic audit — every agency, every contract, every vendor, every dollar — conducted by independent investigators who answer to no one in state government. What we find, you will see. What we recover goes back to work for you.
Read the directive
What It Is

Not a Regular Audit.
A Forensic One.

Minnesota already has auditors. It already has oversight offices, budget reviews, and annual reports. None of that has stopped the waste. None of it has stopped the fraud. None of it has put a single dollar back to work for the people who funded it. This is different. A forensic audit uses the same methodology applied to financial crimes, corporate fraud, and the tracing of stolen money across complex organizations. We are bringing that standard to state government — because state government has earned it.

01
Two Independent Firms
Two certified forensic accounting firms hired independently, working in parallel. No single point of failure. No single firm that can be pressured. Both examine the same records and produce independent findings. Where both flag the same issue, the case is airtight.
02
Every Agency. No Exceptions.
Every major state agency. Every major vendor contract. Every grant disbursement over a threshold amount. No office opts out. No department gets a courtesy pass because they have friends in the right places.
03
Inspector General — Boots on the Ground
When the accounting firms find fraud, findings go directly to the Inspector General. The IG dispatches investigator teams to physically verify — showing up at the businesses and vendors flagged by the audit. Paper trail meets ground truth.
04
Public Findings. Mandatory Action.
Every finding is published in plain language. Fraud goes to law enforcement. Fraudulent contracts get voided. Misspending triggers policy change. Recovered funds go back to work for residents. Every finding triggers a mandatory response.
The Structure

Three Layers.
No Gaps.

This is not a single office with a limited mandate. It is a three-layer system designed so that fraud has nowhere to hide — the numbers get checked, the findings get verified on the ground, and the people responsible get referred to law enforcement.

01
Two Forensic Accounting Firms
The Numbers Layer
Two independent certified forensic accounting firms hired separately and working in parallel. They do not share offices, staff, or methodology. Both examine the same financial records — contracts, vendor payments, grant disbursements, agency expenditures — and produce independent findings. Where both firms flag the same issue, the case is airtight. Where findings differ, both reports are published and the discrepancy is itself a finding. No single relationship, no single pressure point, no single blind spot can compromise the audit.
Certified Forensic Accountants · No Prior State Relationship · Parallel Review
Fraud Findings Referred To
02
Inspector General's Office
The Coordination Layer
The Inspector General's Office receives all fraud findings from both accounting firms. The IG has existing statutory authority, existing investigative infrastructure, and existing law enforcement relationships. We are not building something from scratch — we are activating capacity that already exists and is currently underutilized. The IG reviews findings, prioritizes by severity and dollar value, dispatches investigator teams, and manages referrals to the Attorney General and federal authorities where applicable.
Existing Statutory Authority · Fully Activated · AG Referral Pipeline
Investigator Teams Dispatched To
03
IG Field Investigators
The Ground Truth Layer
IG investigator teams physically go to the businesses, vendors, and contractors flagged by the accounting firms. They verify that services were actually rendered. They confirm that employees on payroll actually exist. They check that deliverables were actually delivered. Numbers on paper get matched against reality on the ground. Phantom vendors get exposed. Inflated invoices get challenged. Ghost employees get identified. This is where the paper trail meets the real world — and where fraud that survives a numbers review gets caught anyway.
On-Site Verification · Physical Investigation · Law Enforcement Referral
Who It's For

This Is
For You.

Not for political insiders. Not for contractors. Not for anyone who has been profiting off a system that never had to explain itself. This directive exists for the people who fund the whole operation and never get a straight answer.

The Taxpaying Resident
You have been sending a portion of every paycheck to a state government that has never had to prove it spent your money well. You are owed an accounting. This directive delivers it.
The Family Getting By
Programs that were supposed to help you have been eaten alive by administrative bloat, contractor markups, and mismanagement. The money that should have reached you never did. This audit finds out where it went — and redirects it back to where it belongs.
The Small Business Owner
You compete for contracts on merit. Some vendors do not. State contracts awarded to connected businesses with inflated rates and no real deliverables drain money that could fund actual services or go directly back to residents.
The Public Employee Doing It Right
Most people in state government are doing their jobs honestly. They deserve to work in an institution that can prove it. This audit protects them too — by exposing the bad actors who give the whole system a bad name.
Every Minnesota Resident
Whether you have ever applied for a state program or not — you are a stakeholder in how this state spends money. Accountability is not a special interest. It is a baseline expectation.
Why It Has to Happen

The Problem
Is Real.

Minnesota spends over $60 billion every two-year budget cycle. The question is not whether the money exists. The question is where it actually goes — and whether residents are getting what they paid for.
$60B+
State budget every two-year cycle — never independently forensic-audited at this scale
ZERO
Independent forensic audits of the full state apparatus ever conducted with this level of independence
$0
Recovered funds from fraudulent state contracts ever returned directly to residents
In the News — April 2026
Minnesota HF 4950 — The Take It Back Act

In April 2026, Minnesota legislators introduced HF 4950 — a bipartisan bill establishing a 100% excise tax on funds obtained through government fraud, routing that money into a Tax Relief Account. It is a meaningful step. But a 100% tax on fraud you cannot find is not a solution — it is a press release.

The Take It Back Act is a strike package with no targeting system. Directive 01 is the targeting system. The Full Audit finds the fraud. HF 4950 claws it back. You need both — in that order — or you recover a fraction of what was stolen.

The legislature just admitted in writing what Minnesota leadership spent years refusing to say out loud: the fraud is real, it is large, and it needs to be hunted down. Directive 01 was built before that bill existed. They are catching up.

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor does good work within narrow limits. It investigates what it is directed to investigate. It does not have independent forensic authority over the full apparatus of state government. It does not conduct financial crime-level investigations as a matter of routine. It operates inside the same political structure it is meant to oversee.

That is not a personal criticism of the people who work there. That is a structural problem. You cannot have genuine accountability when the accountants work for the people being held accountable.

Fraud happens when people believe no one is watching closely enough to catch it. Vendor fraud. Grant fraud. No-bid contracts. Inflated invoices. Payments for services never delivered. These are documented patterns in state governments across the country, and Minnesota has no mechanism powerful enough to root them out systematically. Until now.

When fraud is found, the state recovers money. When misspent funds are identified, programs get restructured. Recovered dollars do not disappear back into the machine that lost them. They flow into the Resident Solution Fund — and from there, they go back to work for Minnesota residents. Directly in their hands through Resident Solution Checks, and directly into the programs built to serve them.

How It Works

The Governor's
Mechanism.

The Governor holds supervisory authority over executive agencies, appointive authority to install independent leadership, and a constitutional obligation to see that the laws are faithfully executed. These are the steps this directive puts in motion from day one.

1
Office of Forensic Accountability Established
On day one, the Governor establishes the Office of Forensic Accountability within the Office of the Governor. The Director — a certified forensic auditor or certified fraud examiner with no prior state relationship — reports directly to the Governor. All findings are published publicly without editorial review by the agencies being examined.
2
Two Independent Forensic Firms Procured
The Director procures two certified forensic accounting firms through a competitive process. Firms with any existing state contract are ineligible. Both firms work independently — no shared staff, no shared methodology, no shared communications during the audit period. Each produces its own report. Discrepancies between reports are themselves a finding.
3
Inspector General Fully Activated
The Inspector General's Office is directed to receive all fraud findings from both firms and deploy investigator teams to physically verify flagged vendors, contractors, and businesses on the ground. The IG prioritizes investigations by confirmed dollar value and severity. All confirmed fraud is referred to the Minnesota Attorney General and applicable federal authorities.
4
Mandatory Agency Cooperation
All executive branch agency heads are directed to provide full, timely, and unobstructed access to all records, systems, personnel, and documentation requested. Non-cooperation, obstruction, or destruction of records constitutes grounds for immediate termination and referral to the Attorney General. This directive supersedes any agency policy that would limit such access.
5
Public Reporting — Plain Language
The Director publishes a public report for each agency audit within 60 days of completion. Reports are written in plain language — was fraud found, how much, what action is being taken, and the status of all law enforcement referrals. Posted publicly within 24 hours of completion. Not subject to review by the agencies being examined.
6
Resident Solution Fund Established
All funds recovered as a direct result of forensic audit findings are deposited into the Resident Solution Fund — independently administered, separately accounted for from the general fund. Recovered funds flow through three channels: direct disbursement to qualifying Minnesota residents, reinvestment in underfunded programs, and coverage of audit operational costs.
Legal Authority

What the Law
Already Allows.

This directive operates entirely within established Minnesota executive authority. These statutes are not stretched — they are read as written. The legal team will review and verify each citation prior to signing.

MN Stat. 16B.01Agency Supervision
Governor's supervisory authority over all executive branch agencies — the foundation for directing agency cooperation with the forensic audit and requiring full records access.
MN Stat. 43A.04Appointive Authority
Governor's authority to appoint the Director of Forensic Accountability and install independent leadership with no prior state relationship. The appointment mechanism that makes the Office of Forensic Accountability independent in practice, not just on paper.
MN Stat. 6.56Financial Examination
Financial examination authority — the statutory basis for directing a comprehensive forensic review of state agency financial records, contracts, and expenditures.
MN Stat. 3.971IG Coordination
Inspector General coordination authority — the basis for directing the IG's Office to receive audit findings and deploy investigative teams to physically verify flagged vendors and contractors.
MN Const. Art. V §3Executive Authority
The Governor's constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Protecting taxpayer funds from fraud is not a fringe interpretation of executive power — it is the core of it.
U.S. Const. Art. VISupremacy / Federal Funds
Federal programs that flow through state agencies are subject to federal audit requirements. This directive's forensic audit scope includes all federal pass-through funds administered by Minnesota executive agencies.
Opposition & Rebuttals

They Say.
My Answer.

The people who benefit from a system that has never had to open its books will oppose this directive. Here is what they will say — and the truth.

They Say"This is a political witch hunt targeting state employees."
My AnswerIf the money is clean, the audit proves it. Full stop. Independent forensic auditors do not answer to me — they answer to the findings. If your agency spent every dollar correctly, that report will say so and you can frame it on your wall. The only people threatened by an independent audit are the people who have something to hide.
They Say"We already have auditors. This is redundant and wasteful."
My AnswerThe auditors you have operate inside the system they are supposed to oversee. A legislative auditor who investigates what the legislature directs it to investigate is not independent oversight — it is managed oversight. There is a difference between a financial review and a forensic investigation. Minnesota has never done the second one at this scale. If the first one was working, we would not have the questions we have.
They Say"This will cost millions and disrupt critical services."
My AnswerA forensic audit costs a fraction of what fraud costs. If this audit recovers even one percent of confirmed misspending in a $60 billion cycle, it has paid for itself many times over. Audit operational costs are covered by the recovery fund — not new appropriations. It does not disrupt services — it examines financial records, not day-to-day operations. The only thing disrupted is the expectation that the books will never be opened.
They Say"The Governor doesn't have the authority to do this without the legislature."
My AnswerYes, the Governor does. The statutory and constitutional authority is documented in this directive. Supervisory authority over executive agencies. Appointive authority to install independent leadership. A constitutional obligation to see that the laws are faithfully executed. Protecting taxpayer money from fraud is not a fringe interpretation of executive power — it is the core of it.
They Say"HF 4950 already addresses fraud — the legislature is handling it. We don't need your audit."
My AnswerHF 4950 establishes a 100% excise tax on fraud that has already been identified and confirmed. It is an enforcement mechanism — and a good one. But it cannot tax fraud that no one has found yet. The current system identifies a small fraction of what is actually being stolen because it has never had a full independent forensic audit backing it up. The Take It Back Act is the weapon. Directive 01 is the targeting system. Without the audit, you are firing blind. I support HF 4950. I also know it is not enough on its own — and I built the mechanism that makes it work.
They Say"Promising money back to residents is a political stunt."
My AnswerWe are not promising a number. We are promising a mechanism. Recovered funds go back to work for residents — through direct checks to qualifying Minnesotans, through reinvestment in programs that actually serve them, and through an audit process that pays for itself. The alternative — letting recovered funds disappear into general appropriations controlled by the same people who lost track of the money — is how this cycle continues indefinitely.
Where Recovered Money Goes

The Resident
Solution Fund

Every dollar recovered through this audit has one destination: back to work for Minnesota residents. Not into next year's budget. Not into a discretionary fund controlled by the people who lost track of it. Into a dedicated, independently administered Resident Solution Fund — with three clear channels for how it gets used.

01
Resident Solution Checks
A direct disbursement to qualifying Minnesota residents. Amount, eligibility, and timeline are determined transparently once verified recovery data exists. We are not putting a number on a poster before we have done the work. The commitment is the process — when the numbers are real, so are the checks.
02
Program Reinvestment
A portion of recovered funds is redirected into underfunded programs that directly serve Minnesota residents — programs that were supposed to receive this money before it was misspent or diverted. This is not new spending. This is money going where it was always meant to go.
03
Audit Operations
The cost of running the audit — both forensic firms, the Director, and investigative costs — is covered by the recovery fund. This process pays for itself. It does not come out of existing program budgets or require new legislative appropriations.
1
Audit Finds It
Two independent forensic firms and IG field investigators document fraud, waste, and misspent funds across all audited agencies.
2
State Recovers It
Civil recovery, contract voidance, and law enforcement referrals convert findings into actual dollars returned to the state.
3
Fund Receives It
Recovered funds flow into the dedicated Resident Solution Fund — segregated, publicly tracked, independently administered.
4
Residents Benefit
Funds disbursed through three channels — direct checks, program reinvestment, audit cost recovery — in proportions set transparently once real numbers exist.
Honest note: Specific dollar amounts, disbursement timelines, and channel proportions will not be announced until an independent team has completed a full financial assessment and the audit has produced verified recovery data. Anyone who gives you a specific number before that work is done is guessing — or worse. The commitment here is to the process, the transparency, and the intent. The numbers will follow the facts.
Executive Order 27-01 — State Accountability & Forensic Intervention Ready for Signature · Day One
STATE OF MINNESOTA Executive Department
Executive Order 27-01
Establishing the Office of Forensic Accountability, Directing a Full Forensic Audit of Executive Branch Agencies, and Establishing the Resident Solution Fund
GovernorTom Berhane
DateJanuary 4, 2027
StatusDraft — Legal Review Pending
Directive01 of 13
Whereas
The people of Minnesota fund the operations of state government through their taxes and are entitled to a full accounting of how those funds are collected, managed, and disbursed by the agencies and institutions established to serve them;
Whereas
No comprehensive, independent forensic audit of the executive branch has been conducted at the scope and with the independent authority necessary to provide residents with genuine assurance that their funds are being faithfully managed;
Whereas
Fraud, waste, and mismanagement in public spending are documented patterns in state governments nationally, and the absence of a full forensic audit creates conditions in which such misconduct can persist undetected;
Whereas
The Inspector General's Office holds existing statutory investigative authority that can and should be fully activated as the ground-truth verification layer for forensic audit findings, including physical investigation of vendors, contractors, and businesses flagged by independent accounting review;
Whereas
The Governor holds supervisory authority over all executive branch agencies under Minnesota Statutes section 16B.01, appointive authority under section 43A.04, financial examination authority under section 6.56, Inspector General coordination authority under section 3.971, and a constitutional obligation under Article V, Section 3 of the Minnesota Constitution to take care that the laws be faithfully executed;
Whereas
The Minnesota Legislature introduced HF 4950 in April 2026 — the Take It Back Act — establishing a 100% excise tax on funds obtained through government fraud, thereby affirming through legislative action that fraud in state government is real, material, and in need of active countermeasure; and that a full forensic audit is the necessary precursor to any effective fraud-clawback mechanism, as enforcement tools can only operate on fraud that has first been identified;
Whereas
It is in the public interest of all Minnesota residents that funds recovered through confirmed fraud or misspending be returned to work for the people of Minnesota — through direct disbursement to qualifying residents, reinvestment in programs that directly serve residents, and coverage of audit operational costs;
Now Therefore, I, Tom Berhane, Governor of the State of Minnesota, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of this state, do hereby order as follows:
Establishment of the Office of Forensic Accountability

There is hereby established within the Office of the Governor the Office of Forensic Accountability. The Office shall be led by a Director of Forensic Accountability — a certified forensic auditor or certified fraud examiner with no prior employment, contractual, or financial relationship with any Minnesota executive branch agency within the preceding five years. The Director reports directly to the Governor and publishes all findings publicly without editorial review by examined agencies.

Engagement of Two Independent Forensic Accounting Firms

The Director shall procure two independent certified forensic accounting firms through a competitive process. Firms with any existing state contract, grant, or financial relationship are ineligible. Both firms shall:

  • Operate independently with no shared staff, methodology, or communications during the audit period
  • Examine all financial records, contracts, vendor payments, and grant disbursements within their assigned scope
  • Produce independent written findings reports submitted simultaneously to the Director
  • Refer all findings of suspected fraud, theft, or financial misconduct directly to the Inspector General's Office
Activation of the Inspector General's Office

The Inspector General's Office is hereby directed to receive all fraud findings from both forensic accounting firms and to deploy investigator teams to physically verify flagged vendors, contractors, and businesses on the ground. The IG shall:

  • Prioritize investigations by confirmed dollar value and severity of finding
  • Conduct on-site verification of vendor existence, service delivery, and contract compliance
  • Refer confirmed fraud to the Minnesota Attorney General and applicable federal authorities
  • Report investigation status publicly on a quarterly basis
Mandatory Agency Cooperation

All executive branch agency heads are hereby directed to provide the Office of Forensic Accountability with full, timely, and unobstructed access to all records, systems, personnel, and documentation requested. Non-cooperation, obstruction, destruction of records, or interference with the audit process shall constitute grounds for immediate termination and referral to the Attorney General. This directive supersedes any agency policy or internal procedure that would limit such access.

Public Reporting — Plain Language

The Director shall publish a public report for each agency audit within 60 days of completion. Reports shall be written in plain language stating clearly whether fraud was found, the dollar value of confirmed misspending, what action is being taken, and the status of all law enforcement referrals. Reports are posted publicly within 24 hours of completion and are not subject to editorial review by examined agencies.

Establishment of the Resident Solution Fund

All funds recovered as a direct result of forensic audit findings shall be deposited into the Resident Solution Fund, independently administered and separately accounted for from the general fund. Recovered funds shall be directed through three channels:

  • Resident Solution Checks: Direct disbursement to qualifying Minnesota residents, with eligibility and amounts determined transparently once verified recovery data is established
  • Program Reinvestment: Reinvestment into underfunded state programs that directly serve Minnesota residents, prioritized by documented need
  • Audit Operations: Coverage of forensic audit operational costs including both independent firms, the Director, and associated investigative expenses

Proportional allocation between channels shall be established by the Director in consultation with the Department of Finance and published for public comment prior to implementation.

Effective Date & Duration

This Executive Order is effective immediately upon signing and shall remain in effect for the duration of this administration, or until superseded by statute establishing a permanent forensic accountability function of equivalent or greater independence and authority. Agency heads shall submit implementation plans to the Governor's Office within 30 days of signing.

A determination that any provision of this Executive Order is invalid will not affect the enforceability of any other provision of this Executive Order. Rather, the invalid provision will be modified to the extent necessary so that it is enforceable.
______________________________
Tom Berhane
Governor, State of Minnesota
Signed January 4, 2027
______________________________
[Secretary of State]
Secretary of State, State of Minnesota
Filed According to Law
Stand With This Directive

The fraud has been happening for years. Nobody was watching closely enough — or willing enough — to stop it. That changes January 4, 2027. Be part of the coalition that makes it happen.

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This Is
Directive 01

The first order of business. Not because it is easy — because it is the foundation everything else is built on. You cannot fix what you cannot see. Now we look.

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