Parents Were Claiming Adoption Subsidies Despite Not Supporting Me

Location: Minnesota
TL;DR my adoptive parents have been claiming adoption subsidies for supporting my housing, food and tuition needs, and they didn’t tell me or provide financial assistance even close to the amount I’ve been receiving.

I’ll start with some background. I moved into my adoptive family home in August 2021 when I was 16. The adoption was finalized in January of 2022, I turned 18 in June of 2023. I then moved out and have been the primary supporter of myself since.

I originally found out that they were receiving payments in 2023 when I moved out for college. I was broke and hungry so I tried applying for SNAP. However, since they were getting paid to take care of me, I was denied for assistance.

I called my mom and asked why they were still receiving payments and how much they were. She said that they should end soon, and that she wasn’t comfortable telling me how much. I, of course being a dumb 18 year old didn’t want to challenge her so I ended the conversation. My financial situation improved shortly after so I forgot about the conversation.

Fast forward a little under 3 years and I receive a notice in the mail about my medical assistance being canceled. I panicked, called the number and tried to figure out what was going on. Turns out I had turned 21 and my adoption assistance had ended or something and I had to reapply. The lady was awesome and super helpful as she was looking through my profile. She saw my previous denial for SNAP and went “Hey! So you know, you qualify for SNAP now.” This made me remember my conversation years ago with my mom about the payments, so out of curiosity I asked the lady I was on the phone with about it.

Turns out, my parents have been receiving about $1500 a month since I moved out claiming they were still supporting me. This however is nowhere near true. I’ve received, in total about $6,600 since I moved out. They have received about $43,000 for me, from the state to provide for me.

I called my mom as soon as I got off the phone and asked her again, how much were they receiving from the state. She again said “I don’t feel comfortable discussing this with you.” I confronted her with what I was told and she immediately started stuttering and stammering about how I don’t know how expensive it is to have a kid and they’re using it to support me and take care of the house.

Where the hell did the other $37,000 go. What do I do? I’m so confused, scared and hurt right now.
I don’t know how to get a lawyer, I don’t have the money for that. I also live in a different county than the one I was adopted from, does that complicate things?

I really don’t want to report them for fraud but at this point they won’t tell me what they spent the money on. Morally I’m internally screaming and I want to report them but I’m scared to burn that bridge. I’ve turned to them for advice so much in the last few years, I don’t know who to trust now.