Journalist Behind Minnesota Fraud Says ‘A Kindergartner’ Could Have Uncovered the Scam

The most damning exposé of government fraud in years didn’t come from a high-powered watchdog or a Senate committee it came from a 23-year-old independent journalist with a camera and a few questions.

Nick Shirley’s explosive 42-minute video now viewed over 200,000 times documents his investigation into widespread alleged daycare and Medicaid fraud in Minnesota, showing taxpayer-funded facilities that appear empty, inactive, or outright abandoned while receiving millions in government aid.

“It’s so obvious,” Shirley said during a Fox News appearance. “A kindergartner could’ve figured out there was fraud going on.”

Shirley toured the Minneapolis area with a local resident named David, who had been documenting suspicious activity for years. Their findings are jaw-dropping:

• Daycare and autism centers with no visible children and windows covered in black film

• Transportation vans parked with snow piled around the tires, appearing not to have moved in weeks

• Workers at “childcare” facilities unable to explain basic operations or where the children were

• Over 1,000 non-emergency medical transport companies in Minnesota more than 800 Somali-owned, according to David

The video dropped just as federal prosecutors revealed that at least $9 billion in fraud has occurred under Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s watch an admission that sent shockwaves through the state and beyond.

Shirley said he found widespread reluctance from other journalists to touch the story, fearing accusations of racism or Islamophobia, given that many of the businesses tied to the fraud are linked to Minnesota’s large Somali community.

“Fraud is fraud,” Shirley said. “We work too hard just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening.”

Some of the most shocking details include:

• One daycare reportedly billed for 99 children and received roughly $4 million, despite appearing completely empty.

• A Somali woman outside one center, when asked where the children were, replied, “It’s not your business.”

• One accused Somali fraudster, still awaiting trial, continued receiving state funds to run assisted living homes.

This follows the massive Feeding Our Future scandal that involved over $250 million in fraud and 78 federal indictments, much of it tied to nonprofit and childcare abuse.

Yet even in the face of overwhelming evidence, Governor Walz’s office insists he’s been fighting fraud all along. His spokesperson said Walz “has worked for years to crack down on fraud,” citing audits, investigations, and new oversight roles many of which, it’s worth noting, only occurred after the fraud became national news.

Here’s the reality: this wasn’t a subtle operation. This wasn’t buried in paperwork or complex shell games. This was fraud hiding in plain sight, and Democratic leadership either ignored it or chose not to act possibly out of political convenience.

Meanwhile, Minnesotans continue to foot the bill for fraudulent daycares, fake transportation firms, and bogus service centers all while the Walz administration claims they’re on top of it.

Credit to Nick Shirley for doing what an entire state bureaucracy refused to: tell the truth.

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