Trump turns a Minnesota fraud allegation into ammunition for his MAGA army against Democrats

A fraud case is brewing in Minnesota that has all the makings of a weapon President Donald Trump could use as the latest ammunition for his MAGA army — the heterogeneous ultraconservative group that supports the Republican magnate — in his political and cultural war against immigration and the progressive opposition. The case involves corruption with public funds intended for social assistance in a state controlled by Democrats and affecting the Somali community. It has been further fueled this week by a 23-year-old YouTuber who posted a video allegedly exposing fraud in the allocation of subsidies to daycare centers in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, known as the Twin Cities.

The FBI and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have launched a “massive investigation” into more than a dozen social assistance programs run by the Minnesota government, headed by Tim Walz, who was the running mate of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Adding to this are the unusually harsh statements made by the Republican president against the Somali community in Minnesota earlier this month, whom he called “garbage,” among other xenophobic remarks. Trump said that Somalis “contribute nothing,” “do nothing but complain,” and linked them to the fraud cases in Minnesota.

Approximately 84,000 people of Somali descent live in Minnesota, known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes; the vast majority are U.S. citizens or legal residents. Despite this, federal officials have identified the Somali community as a focal point for the fraud of millions of dollars in federal funds earmarked for programs such as child nutrition, housing services, childcare, Covid-19 relief, and autism assistance, among others.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced Sunday via a post on the social media platform X that his agency had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.” The head of the federal investigative bureau added: “Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide.”

Patel, who tends to overact in his public appearances to explain details of the cases his department investigates, elaborated: “The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing.”

Noem confirmed Monday that agents from her department are in Minneapolis “going door-to-door at suspected fraud sites.” The head of the DHS posted two videos on X showing two agents asking questions at the entrance of a daycare center and what appears to be a convenience store. “The American people deserve answers on how their taxpayer money is being used and arrests when abuse is found,” the Homeland Security Secretary wrote.

The orders to intensify the investigation came after Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old YouTuber from the MAGA movement, posted a video last week — which has garnered over 1.6 million views — claiming to expose massive fraud in government-funded childcare programs in Minnesota. The 42-minute video features a supposedly subsidized daycare center that is actually inactive. The video has drawn a response from the White House and the MAGA community, whose media network — with dozens of podcasts, websites, and alternative blogs — has brought the fraud investigation to the forefront. Shirley explained this past weekend in an interview with the conservative Fox News channel that the case was “so obvious that a kindergartener could tell there’s a fraud going on.” Vice President J.D. Vance shared the video on his social media accounts. And although the FBI director did not link his orders to Shirley’s video, he wrote on X: “The FBI is aware of recent social media reports about Minnesota.”

To date, there is no figure for the amount of federal money earmarked for Minnesota public programs that was diverted through the fraud scheme, but prosecutors now say the losses could reach billions. Since 2018, the state has received about $18 billion in federal funds to finance 14 programs that may have been affected by the scheme, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “I’m sure everyone is wondering how much of this $18 billion was fraud,” he said. “That’s the $18 billion question.”

The new daycare funding scandal exposed by Shirley’s video comes after several years of federal fraud investigations in Minnesota. An investigation that began in 2019 exploded three years later and implicated the NGO Feeding Our Future, resulting in the conviction of 57 defendants for defrauding approximately $300 million in public aid by diverting funds intended for food for children impacted by the pandemic. Prosecutors described it as the largest Covid-19 relief fraud in the country.

Eight other people were charged last September for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud federally funded healthcare grants. Days later, prosecutors charged a woman with participating in fraud related to an autism program and indicated that more similar cases were likely. “The magnitude cannot be overstated,” said prosecutor Thompson, according to the Associated Press. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”

Authorities have charged a total of 92 people with participating in one of three fraud schemes involving child nutrition programs, housing services, and autism programs. Of these, 82 are Somali Americans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, which has fueled controversial theories within the MAGA community.

Minnesota Governor Walz asserted that he will not tolerate fraud and has launched a process to audit and review the entire aid distribution process. Walz added that the state “will continue to work with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught.”

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