Tipsheet

Trump Administration Takes Swift Action to Root Out Rampant Fraud in Minnesota

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 05, 2026 5:30 PM

Nick Shirley’s video exposing alleged rampant daycare fraud in Minnesota led to a flurry of coverage. It went viral, as the YouTuber found numerous daycares with empty rooms, no kids, and military-aged Somalis doing nothing inside. One got burgled, and the robbers took—get this—all their administrative records. It’s frankly laughable that they held a presser about that, too. Two things have happened since the video was posted: Tim Walz has withdrawn his bid for a third term, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Department of Homeland Security, is conducting raids to uproot the fraud that appears to be running amok in the state.  

These centers are collecting millions in government funds. However, the Department of Health and Human Services recently turned off the spigot, ceasing all child care payments until these issues are resolved. Now, the feds are deploying some 2,000 agents to investigate these allegations, because Tim Walz and his circus of state investigators cannot be trusted (via CBS News): 

The Trump administration has begun a massive deployment of hundreds of Department of Homeland Security agents to the Twin Cities area as it escalates its federal crackdown amid a widening fraud scandal in Minnesota, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the plan told CBS News. 

The crackdown could involve roughly 2,000 agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's deportation branch and Homeland Security Investigations, the agency's investigative arm tasked with fighting transnational crimes, the officials said. They requested anonymity to discuss operations that have not been publicly announced. 

The plan is for the agents and officers to oversee a 30-day surge in operations in the Twin Cities area, making the region the first major target of the Trump administration's expanded immigration crackdown in the new year, officials said. Agents deployed from Homeland Security Investigations are expected to probe alleged cases of fraud, building on last month's inspection of dozens of sites in the Minneapolis area. 

[…] 

The deployment, which began Sunday, represents one of the largest concentrations of DHS personnel in an American city in recent years. The move greatly expands the federal law enforcement footprint in Minnesota at a time of heightened political and community tension there. 

State investigators allowed it to continue, and they don’t have the bandwidth to do it properly. If you call these centers and take them at their word, you’re not doing it right. It’s sad that it even needs to be said, even more embarrassing that CNN peddled that line when they confronted Shirley.  

The US Department of Labor is now reviewing Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance Program.  

It’s a full-throated assault on this felonious gravy train that hopefully made its last stop.  

The crackdown has begun—happy hunting.