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Stearns County sheriff and human services report $1.2M in benefit savings after fraud-prevention program
Summary
The sheriff's office and Human Services described a two-year fraud-prevention partnership that referred roughly 789 cases in two fiscal years, produced about $1.2 million in savings and $775,000 in identified overpayments, and led to a small number of prosecutions and administrative disqualifications.
Lieutenant Zach Sasonson and Janelle Beckerman of Stearns County outlined a fraud-prevention program the sheriff's office is running in partnership with Human Services. The county brought investigative work back into the sheriff's office after more than a decade of private contracting and now employs one full-time investigator and an additional part-time investigator.
Sasonson said the team handles civil-focused investigations to protect program integrity and also develops criminal cases when facts support prosecution. Beckerman described Human Services as the primary referral source: eligibility specialists, child-support officers, social workers and corrections staff flag cases and send them to the fraud-prevention investigators for follow-up.
Program metrics for fiscal years 2024'25 included about 789 referrals from county programs (about 32/month on average), roughly $1.2 million in savings (benefits reduced or avoided), about $775,000 in identified overpayments, four cases referred to the county attorney for prosecution, 19 signed civil disqualifications (waivers) and 15 Department of Human Services hearings. Sasonson said the office prioritizes fact-based investigations and balances enforcement with protecting eligible clients.
Board members asked about repeat referrals (some repeat cases exist), collection of overpayments (handled in part by county collections or benefit reductions), and triage criteria for prosecution; staff said only cases believed to be "egregious enough" are referred to the county attorney and that internal triage includes the sheriff's office, Human Services and the county attorney's office.
Commissioners generally praised the program as timely and helpful to preserve program integrity while also protecting eligible clients. The board requested the presentation slides for follow-up review.
