The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families said Friday that investigators have determined that child care centers at the center of recent fraud allegations are operating properly.
The department issued a statement in response to requests for information about the Child Care Assistance Program, from which it oversees grants, and referred to a “recently circulated video.”
The Trump administration and President Donald Trump himself have alleged fraud in Minnesota following a recent video by a right-wing online influencer named Nick Shirley that made unsubstantiated claims of fraud at the state's child care facilities.
The department said in a statement that investigators, along with the Office of Inspector General, conducted compliance checks at nine centers mentioned in the viral video.
“Investigators confirmed that the centers were operating properly, collected evidence and began further investigation,” the department said in a statement on Friday.
“Children were present at all but one of the sites, which was not yet open to families on the day inspectors arrived,” the report said.
The department said investigations are ongoing into four centers and 55 investigations into providers who receive funding through the Child Care Assistance Program, which it oversees.
Following Shirley's video, which gained support in right-wing circles, the federal Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that it froze all federal child care payments to Minnesota..
The nine centers featured in the video received a total of $17.4 million in CCAP funding in fiscal year 2025, according to the department. According to him, one of the centers has been closed since 2022.
FBI Director Cash Patel on Monday said the FBI has “increased” investigative resources and staff to Minnesota before Shirley's video went viral.
The Justice Department has been investigating fraud in the state for several years.
There was a $250 million fraud scheme that has resulted in criminal charges against 78 people since 2022, according to Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future. US Attorney's Office by State. The scheme included charges against some of the defendants who are members of Minnesota's Somali community.
The “mastermind” of the scheme was Aimee Bock, who is white. in accordance with federal prosecutor's office. She was convicted along with Salim Saeed in March of fraud and other charges.
Bock has not yet been sentenced. Prosecutors said the scheme federal Covid-19 relief funds for food are being used for children, but were instead used to finance a luxurious lifestyle.
The investigation of some criminal cases continues. The latest charge, 78, was filed last month. One of the dozens of defendants was sentenced in September to 10 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors called it the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the country.
A state audit released in 2024 found that the Minnesota Department of Education didn't follow up properly Feeding our future.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families said in a statement Friday that it “remains committed to fact-based audits that prevent fraud.”
“The dissemination of unverified or misleading statements and the abuse of hotlines can interfere with investigations, pose safety risks to families, service providers and employers, and contribute to harmful discourse about Minnesota's immigrant communities,” the statement said.
Trump had criticized the Somali community in the United States even before the latest allegations emerged. Trump, without providing evidence, wrote in Truth Social Wednesday, “Most of the fraud in Minnesota, up to 90%, is caused by people who entered our country illegally from Somalia.”
Trump also attacked US Representative Ilhan Omar, The Minnesota Democrat, the first Somali-American woman to serve in Congress, called her a “loser” and wrote: “Send them back from where they came to Somalia, possibly the worst and most corrupt country on earth.”
Minnesota has largest population in Somalia in the United States. Somalia's civil war, which led to the overthrow of the then-dictator in 1991, forced thousands of immigrants to seek homes in more stable countries, including the United States.
The East African country currently has a federal government following a transitional period of government that ended in 2012.
