Fraud in the Housing World: What You Need to Know
November 2025
What Happened
In September 2025, prosecutors charged eight people connected to four for-profit companies with fraud connected to the Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program. This program helped people find and keep housing. As a Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) program, it used Medicaid billing. The fraud happened when disreputable companies collected money for services they didn’t provide. The victims were people in need of help who didn’t receive it and taxpayers that funded the program. Because of the fraud, the state ended the program on October 31, 2025.
Agate did not take part in HSS nor receive any HSS funds. Nor has any nonprofit housing service provider been accused of fraud to date.
In fact, it was providers like Agate who let DHS know people were not getting the services they needed. I am personally disgusted by this fraud. First, on behalf of the people we serve. People who need support and who didn’t have homes. People with terrible intent preyed on those needing safe, stable homes. I am also saddened by the degradation in trust that it creates for Agate and other nonprofits in the housing space. Even though nonprofit organizations were not involved. But the services many of us provide are similar. I know my work, and I know my team. We work very hard to serve our community and the people who need us. And fraud casts a shadow on us all. That shadow impacts our ability to raise funds to do our work and it impacts morale.
If you have questions, please ask.
I am not just the leader of a nonprofit. I am a donor to Agate and other nonprofits. I also want my hard-earned dollars to be spent well and have an impact on the causes that I care about. From my seat as a nonprofit leader and a nonprofit donor, I know that good nonprofits will answer any questions you have.
If you’d like a better understanding of where your charitable gift goes, ask. Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits file public 990 reports that are available online, read them. Candid.org is a good place to search (and where Agate has a Gold rating, I might add). Larger nonprofits will also have an annual audit. Ask if you can review a copy. Much information is likely available to you if you’d like to take the time to review it.
And this is hard work And while the information is available, that doesn’t always mean it will be perfect. Agate’s friends know that it’s been a hard road since the merger in 2021. We’ve been fighting for financial sustainability post-merger and post-pandemic as we continue our life-saving work. I’m incredibly proud of the difficult decisions we’ve made to get to a balanced budget for this fiscal year. And still, I’ll happily walk you through our financial statements to show the road we’ve been on. And even more excitedly talk about where we’re going. I certainly hope you’ll be with us for that part of the journey, too.
Our Commitment
Most nonprofits believe in transparency. I know Agate does. We are stewards of the generous gifts our donors make. We are tools of the community to do the work we do. We want to live up to your standards. I believe we do. I hope you’ll ask if you think we’re faltering.
