What enables fraud
News of widespread fraud among a minority of Minnesota’s Somali community has fractured public trust and damaged the well-being of the entire community. It has left many asking, “Why has oversight failed so miserably?” and, “Why was this fraud not stopped long ago?” The Somali fraudsters were not that sophisticated. There were obvious red flags, and it appears that assistance with this fraud may have come from individuals who have not yet been identified.
Research in psychology shows that people are more likely to commit fraud when they rationalize their actions, when they believe “everyone is doing it,” and when responsibility is diffused. Legal enforcement alone cannot stop fraud; addressing the social and psychological conditions that enable it is also necessary.
Rationalization may be one of the strongest psychological forces that increases fraud. A number of Somalis involved in fraud do not think of themselves as criminals. “It’s a white-collar crime,” one stated, implying that it was not so bad. Some may even believe they are helping their community — or at least claim that “No one got hurt.” Rationalization is a classic defense mechanism, but it involves an avoidance of reality.
Another element at play has been the bandwagon effect, or the belief that “everybody is doing this.” Those engaged in fraud freely spent the money they had wrongfully acquired, showing off their luxury cars, expensive homes, or other high-end purchases and making their schemes look legitimate. Evidence of financial gain with apparently no negative consequences may have lured more Somalis into fraud. But widespread participation in something does not automatically mean it is good or right.
The bystander effect occurs when the presence of many people tends to hinder anyone from stepping in when they see a concerning behavior. Research has shown that a bystander is less likely to extend help in the (real or imagined) presence of others. The bystander effect can help explain why fraud within the Somali community was sometimes underreported, even when many people were aware it is happening. A diffusion of responsibility occurs. In tight networks, many people may know about fraud, but each assumes someone else will report it. Because “everyone knows,” no one acts. Responsibility has been spread so thin that it has no effect. The bystander effect can be especially strong because of how closely connected Somalis are. Families, clans, mosques and businesses overlap. Reporting wrongdoing could mean reporting to your cousin, your neighbor, or someone who prayed next to you on Friday. The social cost may seem enormous. Therefore, many people stay silent.
Finally, we must not overlook the role that one’s conscience needs to play. Perhaps cases of fraud like this serve as evidence of a collective breakdown of conscience, and until this spiritual problem is addressed, there may be no real resolution to the other issues.
Badeh Dualeh, St. Paul.
The writer is an assistant professor of psychology at North Central University
A swap
The U.S. might now best return Minnesota to its Scandinavian roots.
Swap Minnesota for Greenland. We can become an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark … also, no need to add another star to our iconic American flag.
Gene Delaune, Arden HIlls
Investigate
This newspaper reports that Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has committed to investigating any shooting or crime committed by federal officers, and that certainly is appropriate. The only way a society will have the rule of law is when it is applied to all in the jurisdiction.
The overwhelming and dominant crime today is the massive fraud that seems to expand with every news cycle. The amounts involved are staggering, and a shameful embarrassment for the State of Minnesota. It is unfathomable that a theft of this scope could occur only through neglect or incompetence.
Numerous media entities have reported there are dozens, if not hundreds, of state employees that allege the issue of fraud was repeatedly raised, and ignored or suppressed, and any who voiced that concern intimidated. All of the state offices where this allegedly occurred are in Ramsey County.
If these allegations are true, shouldn’t there be a grand jury convened to consider charges of conspiracy in furtherance of the fraud, or aiding and abetting after the fact?
The public image of state government and the DFL is at an all time low, by any measure, rock bottom. Both need a 12-step program.
The first would be complete transparency, and complete accountability.
The county attorney can initiate the process by doing his job.
Andy Lynn, Mendota Heights
The ice we need
Remember The Great Ice Cube art controversy of 2021 at Summit Avenue and Griggs Street in the shape of a heart?
That’s the only ice we need now more than ever in this town.
Alisa Lein, St. Paul
Some of us just don’t cooperate
As an American with four Swedish immigrant grandparents, I qualify as the “right kind of person” in Minnesota. Even though the Saint Paul Globe published disparaging comments on the Swedish squatters in Swede Hollow back in the mid-19th Century, we are now model citizens.
But some of us just don’t cooperate. Maybe it is my obsession with eating well. I shop and eat in exactly the neighborhoods where the ICE police gather to root out recent immigrants. ‘Nordeast,” named to mimic the speech of early European immigrants, is the most vibrant area of Minneapolis. I can enjoy a “Dago” sandwich and beer and conversation at Dusty’s bar. For something high-toned, I can stop at Diane’s Place, the Hmong bakery, or the Korean Pizza place, each rated by the New York Times as one of the best 15 bakeries or pizza places in the USA.
But my favorite place is the Holy Land on Central Avenue, where I buy Lebanese labneh and Palestinian olives and cheese. The Lebanese had horrible times in their home country and those who came here have contributed a lot. That they have been here for some time protects them from the treatment more recent immigrants have experienced.
Lake Street has the Swedish Deli, Ingebretsen’s. There I saw a commotion. Citizens surrounded an ICE SUV, blowing whistles and shouting at the officers to leave. The ICE patrol eventually left down a side street as one of the officers raised his middle finger to all onlookers.
I recall when I did a tour of Martin Luther King sites in Chicago, I learned that King could bear vicious shouts by keeping calm and silent. I suppose if the ICE police believed in their mission as King did in his, they might adopt this tactic rather than shout obscenities and “give the finger.”
Daniel Norstedt, Eau Claire
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