Tim Walz Deflects Blame as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Erupts Over Viral Daycare

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is scrambling to contain the political fallout after a viral exposé revealed what appears to be widespread fraud in the state’s childcare assistance programs fraud that his own administration allegedly enabled.

The firestorm was sparked by a 42-minute video released Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley, who visited several so-called “childcare centers” in Minneapolis that had reportedly received millions in state funding while showing little to no activity. One center featured in the video had a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center” and was allegedly approved to care for 99 children despite appearing completely empty.

That single location alone reportedly received roughly $4 million in state funds.

Walz’s office responded with damage control, insisting the governor has spent “years cracking down on fraud” and had already launched investigations into the facilities featured in the video. A spokesperson claimed Walz had:

• Hired an outside firm to audit high-risk program payments

• Shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program

• Appointed a new statewide program integrity director

• Supported criminal prosecutions tied to fraudulent operations

But critics aren’t buying it and they’re not wrong to be skeptical. For many Minnesotans, the question isn’t what Walz is doing now, it’s how this fraud was allowed to explode in the first place under his administration.

Shirley appeared on Fox News’ The Big Weekend Show Sunday, calling the fraud “so obvious” that “a kindergartner could figure out there’s fraud going on.” He also suggested mainstream journalists are too scared to follow the story, fearing accusations of racism or Islamophobia since much of the fraud is reportedly tied to operators within the Somali community in the Twin Cities.

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

The fallout has been swift. High-profile names like Sen. JD Vance, Rep. Mike Lawler, Donald Trump Jr., and Elon Musk have called out Walz directly, while the White House reshared a post from Education Secretary Linda McMahon describing the scandal as a “breathtaking failure.”

The scandal follows previous fraud revelations, including the notorious “Feeding Our Future” case, in which $250 million in federal funds were siphoned off by fraudsters under the guise of child nutrition programs. That investigation led to 78 indictments and dozens of convictions but according to FBI Director Kash Patel, it was only “the tip of a very large iceberg.”

Now, with the federal government surging FBI resources into Minnesota, the Walz administration is under serious scrutiny and for good reason.

Let’s be clear this didn’t happen overnight.

• A Wall Street Journal report found that fraud losses across Minnesota programs may total billions of dollars since 2018.

• Walz has repeatedly promoted legislation that weakened oversight, and his allies have actively pushed back on audits and reforms.

• The governor and Democratic leaders in Minnesota failed to act until whistleblowers and independent journalists forced their hand.

What Shirley’s video revealed is just the latest chapter in a growing pattern of incompetence and willful blindness from the Walz administration. While the governor now claims he's cracking down, he’s the one who let the fraud flourish in the first place either through negligence or political convenience.

Taxpayers deserve answers. Not press releases.

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