Somalian daycare fraud in Minnesota claim is false

Public databases show no evidence of such large donations, and the screenshot shared as proof is not displaying campaign contributions, but instead misrepresents funds received under a state program supplementing care costs for low-income families.

The deployment comes after a right-wing influencer posted a video claiming, without proof, that daycare centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had misappropriated more than $100 million.

February 2026: Three Minnesota childcare centers featured in Shirley's viral video alleging fraud at Somali-run daycares sue the state of Minnesota, claiming they were unfairly punished. Attorney Jason Steck, representing the daycares, claims the language against Hopkins Child Care Center and Cloud Academy is overtly vague. Steck argues that St. Cloud Childcare, which the state said is facing "credible" allegations of fraud according to the lawsuit, is losing funding over a minor misunderstanding related to child attendance record-keeping.

In 2021, federal law enforcement first probed a series of multimillion dollar fraud schemes. Those fraud schemes have led to federal charges against 92 people with 62 convicted — and counting.

The agency gathered evidence and initiated further review, noting the investigation into four centers was ongoing, the report stated. The report comes days after YouTube content creator Nick Shirley, who has created anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos in the past, posted a viral video in which he claimed to find widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers.

Quality Learning Center – which became the focus of anger and ridicule after a viral video looking at Somali businesses in Minneapolis – has a history of code violations, but none that suggested fraud.

But facts can seem like little match for the right-wing, social media-fueled narrative that a vast fraud scheme in Minnesota child care centers, which has led to the indictments of dozens of people of Somali heritage, was part of a nationwide scandal.

Here’s what we actually know about child care fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere, and how day cares and families may be impacted by the new changes. Nothing conclusive. The video shows Shirley visiting day cares run by Somali Americans, sometimes under the false pretense of trying to enroll a child.

Amid ongoing probes of fraud related to abuse of public funds in the state, on the day after Christmas, right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video on YouTube called “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal.” In the vigilante-style video, he alleges that several Somali-run daycare centers are not providing a service but receiving funding anyway from the government.