Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and journalist Nick Shirley blew the lid open on how fraudsters in Minnesota used taxpayer funds to support a vicious radical terrorist group in Somalia.
Johnson questioned Shirley during a Wednesday Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing on government fraud.
“I mean, $700 million in cash flowing out of the Minneapolis airport back to, you know, countries in Africa,” Johnson said. “Have either of you gentlemen kind of investigated the foreign sourcing or an organization of a lot of this fraud? I mean, we're opening up to foreign governments to fund their own operations.”
Shirley responded by saying “it's been proven that a lot of the money in suitcases that left Minnesota went back into the hands of people inside Somalia.”
He further explained that in New York, daycare fraud is so rampant that at many facilities, nobody “actually knows who the owner is.”
🚨 HOLY CRAP. Nick Shirley and Sen. Ron Johnson just exposed to America that hundreds of millions of dollars flew out of Minneapolis and much of it went to SOMALIA
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 15, 2026
JOHNSON: "$700 million in cash flowing out of Minneapolis Airport back to countries in Africa!"
SHIRLEY: "It's… pic.twitter.com/0najeijVn9
When the massive fraud issue in Minnesota was revealed last year, it also became apparent that not all of the fraudsters were perpetrating their schemes for personal reason. Many sent the money they defrauded from government welfare programs to support Al-Shabaab, one of the most notorious radical Islamic terrorist groups on the African continent. In fact, one confidential source said, “The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.”
At my direction, @USTreasury is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) December 1, 2025
Thanks to the leadership of… https://t.co/uillMknuXL
The Trump administration has clashed with several blue states that have not made enough effort to curb fraud. Federal agencies have threatened to cut off funding for welfare programs to states that allow the rampant abuse to continue.