Federal authorities are finally showing up where they should have been years ago. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security are now on the ground in Minneapolis, going door to door at suspected Somali fraud sites after a viral video by journalist Nick Shirley blew the lid off what appears to be massive, systemic abuse of taxpayer-funded programs.
The video that set this in motion was not complicated. Shirley simply showed up at a so-called childcare facility and asked basic questions any normal person would ask. The location, operating under the name Minnesota Childcare Center, claims it cares for 102 children. According to public records, the center received roughly $2.66 million in taxpayer funding this year and $2.5 million the year before. The problem is obvious. There were no children inside. None.
When Shirley and an investigator named David asked where the children were and where the money was going, the response was not documentation, not clarification, not outrage at a misunderstanding. It was hostility. A woman working at the center demanded to know who they were and what department they represented before slamming the door in Shirley’s face. That reaction alone raised more red flags than a May Day parade.
And this was not an isolated case. It appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. Estimates suggest Somali-linked healthcare and childcare fraud in Minnesota could total more than $9 billion. That is not a typo. Billions. While working Americans struggle with inflation and taxes, this money has allegedly been siphoned off through shell operations, fake enrollments, and paper-only services.
On Monday, federal agents finally moved in. Homeland Security Investigations, under Department of Homeland Security, descended on Somali-run businesses across Minneapolis. According to DHS leadership, this is a large-scale operation targeting childcare fraud and other abuse of federal programs. The message from DHS was blunt. Agents are going door to door, and this investigation is active and ongoing.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the operation publicly, stating that Americans deserve answers about how their tax dollars are being used and arrests when abuse is found. That should not be a controversial statement, but in Minnesota politics, it often is.
For years, whistleblowers and local investigators have warned about organized fraud networks exploiting weak oversight and political cowardice. State officials looked the other way, terrified of being labeled insensitive while fraud exploded right under their noses. The result is billions lost and public trust destroyed.
Now federal agents are involved, and suddenly the excuses are running out. This is not about race or immigration. It is about crime, accountability, and whether the government is willing to protect taxpayers instead of protecting politically convenient silence.
If DHS follows through, this could be one of the largest fraud crackdowns Minnesota has ever seen. The only real question is why it took so long.
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