Fraud: it’s not just a Minnesota thing!

If there were any doubt, the prison sentence recently handed down for Faith Dixon in a Burleigh County, North Dakota, court demonstrated that fraud is not just a Minnesota phenomenon.

The fraud perpetrated against Minnesota government agencies (much of it involving federal dollars intended to help those in need of government services) has been splashed across the news for months, now. The publicity was well deserved and, to many long alleging corruption in that state’s government (led by Center of the American Experiment, the Minnesota-based parent organization of American Experiment North Dakota), it came as no surprise.

While the Minnesota issues have dominated headlines, many may have missed the fact that fraudulent activities have also been afoot in North Dakota, much of it stemming back years. 

The difference is that, here, it hasn’t taken pressure from organizations and news headlines to deal with it. Our law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and courts are taking care of fraud and seeking justice for the taxpayers.

The Dixon case

Faith Dixon first became known to many North Dakotans as a Black Lives Matter activist, following the George Floyd incident in Minnesota and the “mini riot” downtown Fargo experience, apparently involving many bused-in protestors, shortly thereafter. 

Of course, North Dakotans responded to that incident remarkably, with citizens showing up downtown the morning after to clean the streets and sidewalks and cover the few broken windows — a clear demonstration of the character and quality of the state’s people and their determination not to allow their communities to tolerate such things.

This may sound familiar and reminiscent of the infamous Minnesota “Learing Center” debacle:

Dixon and her then-husband Charles applied for $1.5 million for a non-profit organization she had established — Faith4Hope. She was granted $350,000, ostensibly to be used for “free” comprehensive after school programs and other non-profit efforts. They were reportedly to have involved several businesses which, it turned out, were registered to various members of her family.

After investigations, she was charged, in the autumn of 2025, with five felony counts stemming from misuse of the grant funds, including her alleged personal use. The trial was to have begun in February but was later pushed back to April. 

After initially pleading not guilty, Dixon had reportedly accepted a plea deal which would have required her to spend from 4-11 months behind bars but she backed out, alleging that she’d received bad legal advice and would never have pleaded guilty if she’d understood the terms of the deal. 

After ultimately being found guilty, she, instead, reportedly faces more than 4 years in prison.

Her now-ex husband, Charles Dixon, reportedly accepted a similar plea agreement and will spend 3 years on probation.

What other kinds of fraud are out there?, North Dakotans wonder

While the details of the Dixon case are interesting and, to many, disgusting, there is reason to wonder if they’re the entire story or merely the tip of the iceberg.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”

It would be naive to assume that such fraud in North Dakota is limited to this single case. While we’d all like to believe that our North Dakota neighbors are honest, trustworthy people (and most clearly are), when fraudulent misuse of government funds and abuses of government programs rear their ugly head, careful investigations should ensue to ensure that there is not more to the story.

Minnesota is not alone. It’s become clear that such fraud exists in many other places, including at our own doorstep. The questions are “where?”, “by whom?” and “how much?”.

A big difference has already been demonstrated

In Minnesota, government officials denied and, allegedly, even aided fraud. In North Dakota, we’ve investigated, prosecuted, and punished it.

North Dakota law enforcement officials, the state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office are populated with some of the best professionals anywhere and North Dakotans can hopefully rest assured that these agencies are as concerned about this case and others potentially like it that they won’t rest until any further fraud in our state is discovered, investigated and appropriately dealt with.

The people and their hard-earned tax dollars deserve no less.