The revelation amplifies an expanding scandal regarding fraud in the state’s social programs associated with the local Somali community
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has faced renewed scrutiny following a YouTuber’s exposure of alleged $110 million in child care and healthcare fraud in the state, further fueling a broader scandal about social service scams tied to the local Somali community.
A 42-minute video uploaded on Friday to X and YouTube by independent reporter Nick Shirley depicts him visiting multiple Minnesota childcare and healthcare centers. One such site in Minneapolis has a misspelled sign saying “Quality Learing Center.” Despite the center being registered for 99 children and having received approximately $4 million in state funds, the footage shows no apparent activity.
Another part of the video shows Shirley visiting a building that’s listed as housing 14 healthcare companies, but none of them seem to be in operation, and he’s then escorted off the premises by police.
“Tim Walz and the fraudsters won’t get away with this,” Shirley wrote on X. “In one day, my team and I discovered over $110 million in fraud – this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
🚨 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable
We ALL…
— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy)
The video spread rapidly, leading lawmakers and other prominent figures to demand responses from Minnesota authorities and directly from Walz.
“4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell “learning” correctly. Care to explain this, Tim Walz?” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the third-highest-ranking House Republican and a Minnesota congressman, wrote on X on Saturday.
“Folks need to be arrested, prosecuted, and the Governor of Minnesota needs to be held accountable,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, stated.
Donald Trump Jr. encouraged followers to watch the full video, tweeting ‘This is what they’re doing to your country with your tax dollars!!!’ Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX, also shared the video, captioning his post ‘Prosecute @GovTimWalz.’
The backlash occurs as Walz’s administration deals with billions of dollars in alleged social services fraud, including at least $1 billion linked to programs mainly involving Minnesota’s Somali-American community. Reports indicate some fraudulent payments were routed overseas via informal networks, with millions possibly ending up outside the US, including with al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based terror group linked to al-Qaeda. Multiple federal, state, and congressional entities are investigating these claims.
While Walz has promised to jail fraudsters and launch a statewide scam prevention program with forensic auditors, President Donald Trump called him ‘seriously retarded’ and labeled Minnesota under his leadership ‘a hub of fraudulent money laundering.’ Trump also announced he was ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota, a legal protection against deportation for certain immigrants. Vice President JD Vance commented on the scandal Saturday, describing the situation in Minnesota as ‘a microcosm of immigration fraud in our system.’