Surveillance footage from a state fraud case prosecuted in 2018 shows that purported daycare centers linked to Somali immigrants in Minnesota were involved in fraud schemes as early as 2015.
Video recorded outside one such facility in the Minneapolis area shows parents entering to drop off their children, only to leave with them minutes later, Fox 9 reported in 2015. The 10-year-old news report was shared on social media this week as Minnesota faces more fraud accusations.
Fox 9 reported that in 2015, four purported daycare centers in Minneapolis were accused of billing the government even though children were not present at the facilities. Another video from inside another facility shows a man handing an envelope to what appears to be a parent of Somali descent.
This is from a 2018 Minnesota criminal prosecution against Somali daycare fraudsters.
In surveillance video, Somali parents would take their kids to the daycare, check them in, and then leave with them moments later.
The owners of the daycare would then bill the state for a… pic.twitter.com/oXgbl2qtYj
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 29, 2025
Hennepin County, which includes much of Minneapolis, opened an investigation after the state government identified unusually large billing amounts. Officials placed a camera on a telephone pole outside one of the centers to track how many kids were entering the facility and found that the center had lied about its enrollment numbers.
“It’s hard to imagine they were serving that many people. Frankly, if you’re going to cheat, cheat little, because if you cheat big you’re going to get caught,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at the time.
Four people were taken into custody in 2015 after police searched the alleged fraudulent daycare centers. Two of those arrested, Abdirizak Ahmed Gayre and Ibrahim Awgab Osman, took plea deals and admitted to felony theft, the Daily Mail reported. As part of the plea deal, the state agreed not to pursue further charges against other defendants.
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The 10-year-old video came to light shortly after independent journalist Nick Shirley revealed that numerous daycare and learning centers in the Minneapolis area appeared empty despite claiming they were open and accepting millions of dollars in state funds. Shirley released his video after a federal prosecutor said earlier this month that 14 Minnesota social programs have lost at least $9 billion from fraud since 2018.
After Shirley’s video and the media attention on alleged Minnesota fraud, the Department of Homeland Security sent federal agents door-to-door in Minneapolis to conduct checks at suspected fraud sites.
Republican Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota praised President Donald Trump for looking into the fraud accusations and seeking to hold Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz “accountable.”
“We have been working for years to highlight this and have been met with lies and inaction from Democrats,” Emmer added.
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