On Governor Tim Walz’s watch, approximately $9 billion of federal funds may have been stolen in Minnesota, a federal prosecutor revealed in mid-December. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said, “[w]hat we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”
As the AP explains, federal prosecutors typically see overbilling as the primary vehicle of fraud. But in this Minnesota scandal, “companies have been created to provide zero services while submitting claims to Medicaid and pocketing federal funds for international travel, luxury vehicles and lavish lifestyles.”
Eighty-two of the 92 defendants in this massive federal case are Somalis.
On December 26, independent YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a 42 minute video capturing his door-to-door investigation, which he alleges uncovered $110,000,000 of fraud in a single day. Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic, reposted the video with the comment, “This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 @pulitzercenter prizes.”
In one viral clip, Shirley stands outside of a supposed daycare center with the intended title “Quality Learning Center” – except “learning” is spelled incorrectly on the sign. According to Shirley, who holds up a document, this “daycare” received $1.9 million in government funds in a single year. It did not appear that a single person was inside the building.
🚨 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable
We ALL… pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a
— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025
The bulk of these fraud cases in Minnesota are operating under the guise of welfare programs, and shockingly, some of these government funds – which ultimately belong to the taxpayer – ended up in the hands of Somalian terror group al-Shabaab.
One of these apparent shell companies is Feeding Our Future, a non-profit founded in 2016, which “sponsored daycares and after-school programs to enroll in the Federal Child Nutrition Program” and was run by Somalis, according to an exposé by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo. This non-profit was closely linked to a number of Democrat politicians as well:
In 2019, Feeding Our Future received $3.4 million in federal funding disbursed by the state. In the months after the Covid-19 pandemic began, however, the nonprofit rapidly increased its number of sponsored sites. Using fake meal counts, doctored attendance records, and fabricated invoices, the perpetrators of the fraud ring claimed to be serving thousands of meals a day, seven days a week, to underprivileged children. In 2021, Feeding Our Future received nearly $200 million in funding.
In reality, the money was being used to fund lavish lifestyles, purchase luxury vehicles, and buy real estate in the United States, Turkey, and Kenya. In 2020, Minnesota officials raised concerns about the nonprofit’s rapid expansion. In response, the group filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination related to outstanding site applications, noting that Feeding Our Future “caters to . . . foreign nationals.”
“That’s the standard operating playbook for that cohort: when in doubt, claim racism, claim bias,” says David Gaither, a former Minnesota state senator and a nonprofit leader. “Even if the facts don’t point to that, it allows for many folks in the middle, or on the center-Left, to stay silent.”
Gaither believes the mainstream media, alongside Minnesota’s Democratic establishment, have long turned a blind eye to fraud within the Somali community. This, in turn, allowed the problem to metastasize. “The media does not want to put a light on this,” Gaither said. “And if you’re a politician, it’s a significant disadvantage for you to alienate the Somali community. If you don’t win the Somali community, you can’t win Minneapolis. And if you don’t win Minneapolis, you can’t win the state. End of story.”
The fraudsters have leveraged their growing political influence to cultivate close ties with Minnesota’s elected officials. Several individuals involved in the Feeding Our Future scheme donated to, or appeared publicly with, Ilhan Omar, the Somali-born congresswoman from Minneapolis. Omar’s deputy district director, Ali Isse, advocated on behalf of Feeding Our Future. Omar Fateh, a former state senator who recently ran for Minneapolis mayor, lobbied Governor Tim Walz in support of the program. And one of the accused, Abdi Nur Salah, served as a senior aide to Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey.
May God grant protection to those uncovering stories of darkness and injustice happening throughout our nation. We beseech Our Lady of Guadalupe to help our nation turn fully to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
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