ICE buys Appleton, Minn. prison from CoreCivic for $495.6 million after the firm offered it to the state for $75 million; Bessent says "I don't know anything about that" (Oct. 29-30, 2026)

Case

KARE 11 reported that CoreCivic offered its idle Appleton, Minnesota prison to the state for $75 million in 2025 and sold it to the Department of Homeland Security in August 2026 for $495.6 million for use as an ICE detention center. Minnesota's attorney general called it a $420 million overpayment and asked Congress to investigate; CoreCivic says the federal government set the price after its own assessment. Asked about it at an Oct. 30 anti-fraud event in St. Cloud, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he knew nothing about it. DHS has not been quoted explaining the price.

What the reporting shows
The property is the former Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota, a prison of roughly 1,600 beds owned by Tennessee-based CoreCivic.
CoreCivic offered to sell the facility to the Minnesota Department of Corrections for $75 million in 2025; the DOC confirmed the offer.
In August 2026 CoreCivic sold it to the Department of Homeland Security for $495.6 million, for use as an ICE detention center. KARE 11 describes it as the most expensive property purchase in Minnesota history.
Swift County assessed the property's total market value at $14.75 million in 2026.
Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell called the gap between the two prices 'unexplainable'; neither report gives an explanation such as renovations or differences in size.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called it a 'massive $420 million overpayment' and asked the House and Senate Homeland Security committees and the House Oversight Committee to investigate; Sen. Tina Smith also questioned the price.
Bring Me The News reported DHS also paid at least double estimated value for 11 warehouses it planned to convert to detention centers, and $739 million for the Otay Mesa center in San Diego, nearly five times its $160 million assessed value.
The same report says CoreCivic's former CEO directed a $500,000 donation to Trump's 2025 inaugural committee and $1.77 million in lobbying on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which funded the detention purchases. The report presents these as context and does not allege they caused the price.

Bessent exchange (Oct. 30, 2026)
On Oct. 30 in St. Cloud, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and FBI Director Kash Patel, appearing as members of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, announced arrests of four Medicaid providers.
KARE 11 reporter Lou Raguse asked Bessent about the $420 million gap on the Appleton sale. Bessent answered: "I don't know anything about that. What we are here to do is to prosecute criminal fraud." He added that questions deflecting from that mission were a waste of time.
A viral post circulating the exchange matches the reporting on the dollar figures and Bessent's first sentence; its wording of the second quote differs slightly from the Reformer's account.

Perspectives

Defender — CoreCivic and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
CoreCivic told KARE 11 the federal government ultimately determined the sale price following its own assessment process. Bessent said he knew nothing about the sale and that the task force's purpose that day was prosecuting criminal fraud. DHS had not been quoted on the price in the reporting reviewed.

Critic — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
Ellison called the payment a massive $420 million overpayment and asked Congress's homeland security and oversight committees to investigate DHS.

Note
CoreCivic says the federal government determined the price through its own assessment; no DHS or ICE explanation of the price was found in the reporting reviewed.

Sources
[1] Bring Me The News — ICE paid private prison firm $495M for Appleton site that had been offered to state for $75M (https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/ice-paid-private-prison-firm-495m-for-appleton-site-that-had-been-offered-to-state-for-75m) · 2026-10-30
[2] Racket — Company offered MN prison for $75M; ICE paid $495M a year later (citing KARE 11 investigation) (https://racketmn.com/fart-of-the-deal-company-offered-mn-prison-for-75m-ice-paid-495m-a-year-later) · 2026-10-29
[3] Minnesota Reformer via Yahoo News — Trump officials travel to St. Cloud to announce arrests of allegedly fraudulent Medicaid providers (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-officials-travel-st-cloud-230948202.html) · 2026-10-30
[4] KARE 11 Investigates — Private prison was on sale for $75 million; ICE paid $495 million (https://www.kare11.com/article/news/investigations/kare-11-investigates-private-prison-was-on-sale-for-75-million-ice-paid-495-million/89-4b28b6c7-8823-42b3-9f70-95a78f714e18) · 2026-10-29
[5] Viral social-media post (kowalamedia) — Bessent and the Appleton prison · Viral claim: Core figures ($75M offer, $495.6M sale, $420M gap) and Bessent's "I don't know anything about that" match KARE 11/Reformer reporting; the post's quote adds "That's a waste of our time," which the Reformer paraphrases as Bessent calling such questions a waste of time.

Connections

Related — ICE awards GEO Group a 10-year, roughly $1.5 billion contract to keep running the Tacoma detention center; lawmakers say it was the only bid (Oct. 27-30, 2026)
Another large private-detention deal reported the same week.

Same context — ICE detention funding surge and private contractor revenue (2025-2026)
Specific purchase within the broader surge in ICE detention funding and private-contractor revenue.