At least 50 Minnesota group home clients have died since late 2022 under circumstances serious enough to trigger a state maltreatment investigation. But many penalties amounted to fines of $5,000 or less, and most homes kept their licenses. When Ryan Riggs died in the backyard of his group home, the state’s initial fine was just $1,000.
Taxpayer-funded group homes help thousands of Minnesotans with physical or mental disabilities live as independently as possible. But the industry’s rapid growth in the Twin Cities’ northwestern suburbs has led to problems that leave vulnerable people in danger and local governments struggling with the consequences. Nowhere is that clearer than in Brooklyn Park, the state’s group home capital.
A company allegedly used to launder money stolen from the government in the Feeding Our Future fraud case owns at least five houses where taxpayer-funded group homes operate. Those group homes have collected millions of dollars from the government.
