Nicollet County approves two-year fraud-prevention grant to fund investigator

Nicollet County commissioners on June 24 approved a two-year fraud prevention and investigation grant from the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families to fund the county’s fraud investigator position.

Health and Human Services (HHS) staff member Cassie Sassemburg asked the board for approval, saying, “This grant agreement is for the period of 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2027.” She told the board the award is $89,933 for each fiscal year and that the award increased by about $10,000 per year from the previous cycle.

The nut graf: County staff said the grant supports a fraud investigator employed by the sheriff’s office and embedded with HHS to provide early education, intervention and, when needed, investigation. Sassemburg said Nicollet County’s fraud-prevention work produced an estimated $362,974 in savings in state fiscal 2024, the majority tied to avoiding downstream costs through prevention rather than later recoupment.

Board discussion and vote: Commissioner Koehler asked whether the program’s savings come from showing applicants mistakes in their applications; Sassemburg confirmed the program spends time on the front end providing education and intervention. The board voted by voice to approve the grant after a motion and second; the transcript records the vote as “Aye.”

Ending: The grant will run from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, and will continue funding the county’s fraud investigator position embedded within Health and Human Services. No further conditions or reporting requirements were specified on the record.