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Minnesota appears to be a mecca for fraudsters, particularly from the crime-ridden African nation of Somalia.
Private citizens and the Trump administration have taken steps in recent weeks to neutralize and expose the worst cases of graft in Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's back yard — including the fraud committed by members of the Somali community in relation to coronavirus relief funding and the student aid fraud plaguing the Gopher State's publicly funded schools.
YouTuber Nick Shirley, 23, has played an outsized role in this anti-fraud campaign. His Christmas week videos alleging massive fraud in taxpayer-subsidized, Somali-run day care facilities prompted the Department of Health and Human Services to announce that it was derailing the gravy train.
'Any dollar stolen by fraudsters is stolen from those children.'
"We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota," HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a corresponding video, O'Neill noted that "intrepid journalists have made shocking and credible allegations of extensive fraud in Minnesota's child care programs. We believe the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake day cares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the past decade."
Alex Adams, assistant secretary of the HHS' Administration for Children and Families, indicated that his office provides Minnesota with $185 million in childcare funds annually.
"That money should be helping 19,000 American children, including toddlers and infants," said Adams. "Any dollar stolen by fraudsters is stolen from those children."
RELATED: Patel: Convicted Somali fraudsters face loss of citizenship as DHS probes Minnesota
Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Shirley visited a number of ostensible childcare facilities in Minnesota that each receive millions of dollars in government backing only to find them apparently devoid of children.
In one instance, Shirley visited Mako Childcare — whose owner is listed as Ayan Salah — and the Mini Childcare Center, which are housed in the same facility and appear to be one and the same. According to Shirley's documentary, the two outfits are together licensed for 120 children and rake in roughly $3 million each year.
Shirley highlighted how the windows at the location were all blacked out, there was no outside play area, and there was no evidence of any children on or around the site. Despite signage indicating that the facility is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., the door was locked and no one responded to the doorbell.
After visiting a number of other locations with covered windows and not a single child in sight — while allegedly being tailed by Somali malcontents — Shirley paid a visit to the Quality Learing [sic] Center.
As Shirley knocked on the blacked-out door of the potentially fraudulent day care with the misspelled name, a woman warned those inside, "Don't open up!"
According to the documentary, the apparently childless, playground-free Quality Learing Center is licensed for 99 children and has received around $4 million over the past two years.
Vice President JD Vance said in response to Shirley's reporting, "This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 [Pulitzer] prizes."
'This jaw-dropping reporting is an indictment of both the national news media and feckless, dangerous office holders in Minnesota.'
In response to Shirley's videos, O'Neill indicated that all Administration for Children and Families payments moving forward will "require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence before we send money to a state."
O'Neill noted further that he and Alex Adams have identified the individuals referenced in Shirley's report and have demanded Gov. Walz undertake a "comprehensive audit of these centers," pulling information on attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations, and inspections.
In addition to pausing funding to Minnesota, requiring more in the way of information from applicants nationwide, and demanding an investigation, O'Neill noted that the HHS has launched a fraud-reporting hotline and email address.
— (@)Vance said of the actions taken by the HHS, "Turning off payments and forcing verification before taxpayer money flows out the door is one of the most important steps we can take to end the fraud in Minnesota. But there will be many more to come."
Gov. Walz suggested the HHS' firm response to credible allegations of widespread childcare fraud on his watch was somehow a nefarious plot on the part of President Donald Trump.
"This is Trump's long game," said the failed Democratic vice presidential candidate whose trouble telling the truth dogged him on the campaign trail last year. "We've spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It's a serious issue — but this has been his plan all along. He's politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans."
Walz was thoroughly mocked and criticized online over his desperate attempt to shift blame onto Trump.
Zerohedge, for instance, quipped, "Brilliant execution by Trump's sleeper Somali cell."
Minnesota state Rep. Harry Niska (R) wrote, "Take some accountability. Your failure is no one’s fault but your own. Minnesota deserves better than this embarrassment."
Shirley's documentary not only prompted action by the HHS but by others in the federal government.
"This jaw-dropping reporting is an indictment of both the national news media and feckless, dangerous office holders in Minnesota like Tim Walz, who have allowed these massive fraud schemes to occur for years. NO MORE," tweeted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Johnson added that the House Oversight Committee "has expanded its investigation into these schemes. Republicans have demanded data from Gov. Walz, AG [Keith] Ellison, the Treasury Department, and the Justice Department, and have requested interviews with several key officials in Minnesota who have allowed, or participated in this fraud."
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem indicated that Homeland Security Investigations was also looking into the matter, sharing a video of HSI officers visiting day care operations.
— (@)Director Kash Patel said that the FBI was aware of the reports in the Gopher State and that "fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide."
Patel noted further that the fraud confirmed in the state to date "is just the tip of a very large iceberg," adding that many of those responsible "are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible."
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