MINNEAPOLIS (NewsNation) — A disabled Minnesota man says the state paid providers nearly $100,000 over 11 months for daily medical services he never received and that officials ignored his fraud complaints for years until he testified before a legislative committee.

Cain Pence, a 50-year-old fifth-generation Minnesotan who suffered a stroke five years ago, said he was enrolled in the Integrated Community Supports program that was supposed to provide seven hours of daily assistance but received almost no help while providers billed the state $276 per day.

“I was in a program called Integrated Community Supports for 11 months before I received any service. They were only charging $276 a day. That’s $100,000 a year,” Pence told NewsNation.

When asked to confirm he received no services for 11 months, Pence said: “Someone took me to Target once, but it was supposed to be — my plan was for seven hours a day. I wasn’t getting seven hours a week.”

Providers billed $276/day even when he was away

Pence saved all his billing statements, which show providers charged full rates even when he was away from his residence on trips.

“Every single one of those days I was gone, they charged the full amount. Nobody even looked in on me,” Pence said. “If I had died in my bed, they wouldn’t have even known.”

Showing pages of billing records, Pence said: “Look at these, page after page. I would save them every month. This is one person. They budget a massive amount, that’s just for me. We’ll spend $75,000 on Cain for this. It doesn’t matter if I get the services or not. They are paid it.”

He said the billing records showed “all of the hours that they are billing. All of it just nonsense.”

Payments halted day after testimony to legislative fraud committee

Pence said he repeatedly tried to report the fraud to state authorities but was rebuffed.

“I would call all these places. I would call the auditor’s office, and I would call the attorney general’s office. They did absolutely nothing,” he said.

He showed a form letter he received multiple times: “This is what you file for maltreatment. ‘Your report was assessed and no further action.’ Half-dozen times I got this letter. ‘There will be no further action.’ Yeah, that’s the key line.”

Pence testified before the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee in September 2025. The next day, he said, payments to his providers were shut off.

“The Department of Human Services, law enforcement and all the caseworkers and the managers and the politicians did nothing,” Pence said. “It was a protection racket set up to protect the Somali providers. And I’m a living example of it.”

Officials ‘care more about criminals than handicapped Minnesotans’

Pence accused state officials of prioritizing political considerations over the needs of disabled residents.

“They care more about Somali criminals than they do about handicapped Minnesotans, because real people are hurt in these programs,” Pence said. “I’ve been a victim in these programs.”

Pence’s allegations add to mounting scrutiny of Minnesota’s social services programs, which federal authorities say have been exploited for billions in fraudulent billing across at least 15 different programs including child care, housing assistance, autism services and nutrition programs.

The Integrated Community Supports program is designed to provide daily assistance with housing support, transportation, grocery shopping, cleaning and medical visits for disabled individuals.

Federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have launched investigations into suspected fraud at facilities across Minnesota following viral videos showing daycare centers that appeared empty despite receiving millions in taxpayer funds.