Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the fraud uncovered thus far in Minnesota — largely linked to the Somali community — was just the tip of what appears to be a very large iceberg, and she promised many more arrests and prosecutions in the coming weeks.
In a post shared to X on Monday afternoon, Bondi praised the work done by independent journalist Nick Shirley, who shared a lengthy video exposing the depth of the fraud in the childcare and health care industries — and she said that the Justice Department had already begun investigating the fraud months earlier.
“MINNESOTA FRAUD: [Nick Shirley]’s work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi posted. “@TheJusticeDept has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals – 85 of Somali descent – and more than 60 have been found guilty in court. We have more prosecutions coming … BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
FBI Director Kash Patel also responded to the story:
CASE UPDATE: MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME
The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) December 28, 2025
Shirley shared video of himself going from location to location, confronting people and, in some cases, having doors slammed in his face. At one location, which advertised itself as a “Quality Learing Center,” a white woman stood outside the building warning anyone who might be inside not to open up — and claiming that Shirley was with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet,” Shirley captioned the video post. “We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day … It’s time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable. We ALL work way too hard and pay too much in taxes for this to be happening, the fraud must be stopped.”
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Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown responded to the video on Monday, saying that all of the locations Shirley visited had been the subjects of random inspections within the last six months, and that children had been present when those visits were conducted.
Brown also questioned whether or not Shirley had gone to the daycare centers during normal operating hours, asking, “When were the videos taken? Were they during times that the center was scheduled to be open? Were they during the weekend?”
She also said that, in light of the video, the state planned to conduct follow-up checks.
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