Feds investigate Minnesota Somali daycares after viral video raises more concerns over massive fraud

by Deported.news Staff | January 01, 2026

Federal agents have arrived in Minnesota to investigate more allegations of fraud after a viral video exposed several Somali-owned daycares that appeared to be closed or had no children present.

Agents from various federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are on the ground in the Twin Cities, conducting door-to-door investigations into the claims.

“The American people demand answers and accountability. DHS, under Secretary Noem, will deliver on them,” DHS shared on X. “Our agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people at daycares, healthcare facilities, and other suspected sites.”

The alleged fraud under Gov. Tim Walz’s leadership has ballooned into billions of dollars and continues to expand in scope. The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 98 people related to elaborate embezzlement involving taxpayer-funded housing, nutrition and autism programs, and 85 of those individuals are from the Somali community.

This week’s DHS visits come amid what prosecutors allege is a $9 billion COVID-era fraud scandal in Minnesota.

Several Somali-owned childcare centers, home health care companies and non-emergency medical transportation providers are under scrutiny following a now-viral video with 100 million views.

YouTuber and independent journalist Nick Shirley posted the video last Friday to X, YouTube and other social media outlets. The 23-year-old hoodie-wearing Shirley, joined by a Minneapolis resident identified as David, visited a dozen daycares that receive state and federal money but appeared to be closed.

“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” Shirley said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.”

David works near the childcare centers and began doing his own research after never seeing activity at the locations. They also visited a building with multiple Somali-owned health care companies and had the police called on them for trespassing.

“Quality Learing [sic] Center,” one of the facilities featured in the video, has received roughly $4 million in state funding, and it has racked up 95 violations from Minnesota’s DHS between 2019 to 2023. Shirley noted how the signage of the daycare center was spelled incorrectly as “Quality Learing Center.”

According to a 2015 report from Bring Me The News, which is a local Minnesota news outlet, the Quality Learning Center was raided in 2015 after being accused of defrauding a state program that served lower-income families.

On his own X account, Shirley noted that the phone number for Sweet Angel Child Care, which receives $1.26M in CCAP funding, goes DIRECTLY to the office of Tim Walz.

Shirley’s viral claims of over $110 million fraud tied to Minnesota child care centers has prompted an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, ICE and the FBI.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey recently ramped up the rhetoric and said he was “increasingly concerned because of the chaos that is being caused by these ICE agents” and warned that “somebody is going to get seriously injured or killed.”

ICE Director Todd Lyons called out Walz and Mayor Frey for stoking nonstop protests and attacks against ICE officers. Sanctuary jurisdictions such as Hennepin County refuse to honor ICE detainers, so “it should come as no surprise when we show up to courts with a heavier presence,” Lyons said during a news conference.

In another news clip, Lyons said that sanctuary jurisdictions allow criminals to “hide in plain sight” and carry out criminal fraud and other crimes related to labor trafficking, child trafficking and human exploitation.

ICE said that “Sanctuary cities like Minneapolis are HOTBEDS for criminal illegal alien activity. Their radical policies serve only as protections for the WORST of the worst while Americans suffer the consequences of failed leadership.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted video footage on Monday of agents talking to business owners in Minneapolis.

“Homeland Security Investigations @ICEGov are on the ground in Minneapolis right now conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud,” she wrote on X.

The department has posted updates on its X account, adding another video on Tuesday. ICE agents are working in collaboration with local law enforcement to crack down on the perpetrators of massive fraud across the state.

The Washington Examiner reported that FBI Director Kash Patel has surged federal agents and “investigative resources” to expose and dismantle the fraud schemes.

“Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide,” Patel shared in a lengthy update posted to X on Sunday.

The majority of the charges so far relate to the $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scandal involving a COVID-era nutrition program designed to serve needy children. The case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions.

Patel said that scheme is “just the tip of a very large iceberg,” vowing to “continue to follow the money and protect children.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson recently said “half or more” of the $18 billion billed through 14 of Minnesota’s Medicaid-based support services since 2018 is fraudulent.

Various news outlets shared footage of FBI officials entering businesses, carrying out boxes and speaking to people at various businesses this week.

Walz has downplayed the extent of the fraud and denied accusations that his administration failed to stop it, saying he would instead “welcome more” Somali immigrants into Minnesota amid the fraud scandal.

Following the Democratic playbook, Walz has tried to deflect blame back on the Trump administration and say they are unfairly targeting Somalis.

In response to the viral video, Walz’s office said on Sunday that Walz has “worked for years to crack down on fraud” and has since “strengthened oversight” of these organizations, Fox News Digital reported.

Shirley’s video has sparked widespread backlash of both the mainstream news media and Walz throughout the weekend from several high-profile figures, including Vice President JD Vance, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk.

“This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 @pulitzercenter prizes,” Vance shared on X with a link to Shirley’s video.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz also gave a shout out to Shirley on his X account, saying he doesn’t know Shirley, but “This is an American citizen doing a real service for this country.”

In another post, he added: “@nickshirleyy is doing journalism in a way that the corporate media doesn’t do anymore. He actually went to Minneapolis and investigated the daycares receiving millions of taxpayer dollars.”

 

 

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