Minnesota officers deny daycare fraud allegations from viral video

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Minnesota officials and a daycare supervisor denied fraud allegations Monday after a viral video questioned state-funded little one care facilities, with each side disputing claims that the ability was closed or improperly amassing taxpayer cash.

The allegations stem from a viral video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley exhibiting visits to a number of Minnesota daycare amenities, together with High quality Studying Middle in Minneapolis, which appeared inactive in the course of the go to regardless of receiving state little one care help funds.

At a information convention Monday, Minnesota Division of Youngsters, Youth and Households Commissioner Tikki Brown stated prior inspections of the facilities didn't uncover fraud and that regulators are conducting further unannounced visits to overview considerations raised by the video.

"We're conscious of a video that is being circulated that has gained native and nationwide consideration about little one care facilities in Minnesota," Brown stated. "Whereas now we have questions on a few of the strategies that have been used within the video, we do take the considerations that the video raises about fraud very significantly."

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Impartial journalist Nick Shirley went to a number of daycares to inquire about childcare, however discovered many amenities empty. (Fox Information)

Brown stated every facility talked about within the video has been visited not less than as soon as up to now six months as a part of the state’s licensing course of, with annual inspections performed with out advance discover to evaluate regular operations.

She added that inspectors discovered kids current throughout these visits and that not one of the prior opinions uncovered fraud.

" None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud," Brown stated, including that there's at the moment no pause on funds to the facilities named within the video.

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Brown additionally acknowledged questions concerning the timing of the video visits, noting that regulators are in search of readability on whether or not footage was recorded throughout working hours or on days when facilities have been scheduled to be open.

In the meantime, the supervisor of High quality Studying Middle forcefully rejected the allegations, saying the video misrepresented the ability by filming outdoors posted hours and falsely suggesting the enterprise was inactive.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/672/378/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/1344/756/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/931/523/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/1862/1046/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> Minnesota Division of Youngsters, Youth and Households Commissioner Tikki Brown denied any fraud happened, regardless of a latest report by unbiased journalist Nick Shirley. (Pool)

"There’s no fraud occurring in any way," stated Ibrahim Ali, the middle’s supervisor. "Youngsters come to us, shoppers come to us, their mother and father come to us – they’re right here day by day, they depart on time, they arrive on time. There is no such thing as a fraud occurring in any way."

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Ali stated the middle operates Monday by means of Thursday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., serving primarily after-school kids, and has remained open for greater than eight years with out interruption.

He additionally disputed claims made in the course of the state briefing that the middle had closed on account of area considerations, calling that assertion false.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/672/378/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-001.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/1344/756/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-001.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/931/523/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-001.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/1862/1046/minnesota-daycare-fraud-viral-video-state-response-001.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> High quality Studying Middle supervisor Ibrahim Ali denied any fraud happened, regardless of a latest report by unbiased journalist Nick Shirley. (Pool)

"We haven’t closed. We’ve by no means closed," Ali stated. "There was by no means a time the place children have been informed to cease coming. There was by no means a time we informed our workers to cease coming. All that's false info."

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Ali stated the scrutiny has been damaging to the enterprise and the broader Somali group, arguing that allegations have been amplified with out proof and unfairly linked to ethnicity.

"Are you making an attempt to file that we’re doing fraud or are you making an attempt to place the Somali title and the fraud in the identical sentence?" Ali stated. "That’s what actually damage us the final couple of days."

State officers stated further web site visits are underway and emphasised that any credible proof of fraud could be investigated, whereas Ali invited media and inspectors to return throughout working hours to look at regular exercise.

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The response follows the discharge of a 42-minute video by Shirley, posted Friday on X and YouTube, documenting visits to a number of daycare facilities within the state, together with a location on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

Within the video, Shirley and one other man are seen at what seems to be a largely inactive little one care facility. The constructing additionally shows a misspelled signal studying "High quality Learing Middle," though the middle is reportedly speculated to account for 99 kids and obtained roughly $4 million in state funds.

Throughout a Sunday look on Fox Information’ "The Huge Weekend Present," Shirley stated the alleged fraud in Minnesota was "so apparent" {that a} "kindergartner might determine that there's fraud occurring."

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Tim Walz speaks onstage throughout 2025 SXSW Convention and Competition on the Austin Conference Middle on March 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Photographs)

Shirley additionally instructed different journalists could also be reluctant to pursue comparable reporting out of worry of being labeled "Islamophobic" or "racist."

" Fraud is fraud , and we work too onerous merely simply to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be taking place," he stated.

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The video has sparked widespread backlash, drawing criticism of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz all through the weekend from a number of high-profile figures, together with Vice President JD Vance, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk.