A Viral Exposé Ignites National Scrutiny

Rex Ballard
Dec 30, 2025
6 min read

The 2025 Minnesota Child Care Fraud Scandal: Exposed Through Citizen Journalism

Introduction:

In late December 2025, a series of videos by 23-year-old citizen journalist Nick Shirley thrust Minnesota's long-simmering child care fraud issues into the national spotlight. Shirley's investigative footage, starting with his December 26 YouTube upload titled "I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal," alleged widespread abuse of taxpayer funds in the state's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). By visiting over a dozen Somali-owned day care centers in Minneapolis, Shirley documented apparently empty facilities that had received millions in public subsidies for "ghost children"—enrollees who were either non-existent or absent. The video quickly amassed over 1.84 million views on YouTube and tens of millions more across platforms like X and TikTok, prompting immediate federal investigations and reigniting debates on oversight in welfare programs.

This surge in attention underscores the growing role of citizen journalism in uncovering systemic issues. Unlike traditional media, which had sporadically reported on similar frauds over the past decade, Shirley's grassroots approach—relying on whistleblowers, public records, and unannounced visits—bypassed institutional gatekeeping. His work not only amplified historical patterns of fraud but also directly influenced real-time responses from authorities, demonstrating how independent creators can fill voids in accountability. As of December 29, 2025, Shirley's videos have been credited with accelerating federal probes, with public figures like Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk praising them as a catalyst for action.

Historical Context: A Decade of Documented Fraud Setting the Stage

Minnesota's child care sector has been plagued by confirmed fraud for over a decade, often involving exploitation of CCAP, a program designed to subsidize care for low-income families. These prior cases provided the foundation for Shirley's allegations, as his videos explicitly referenced patterns like over-billing for absent children and falsified records—issues that had led to indictments and convictions long before his exposé.

Key confirmed incidences prior to December 26, 2025, include:

2013-2014: Deqo Family Centers (Yasmin Ali and Associates) – Involved racketeering and theft through recruiting parents to inflate enrollment, costing millions. Convictions included prison terms and restitution, highlighting early vulnerabilities in CCAP verification.
2015: Eden Prairie Daycare Center (Khadra Abdisafad Hirsi) – Hirsi was convicted of stealing public funds via fraudulent claims, sentenced to over a year in prison.
2015: Four Metro-Area Centers Fraud Ring – Centers stole over $1 million by billing for non-existent children; owners pled guilty, banned from child care.
2017-2018: Fozia Sheik Ali Case – Ali billed for services while abroad, convicted and sentenced to two years with $1.5 million restitution.
2018 Broader Audits – State reports estimated up to $100 million in annual fraud, with at least a dozen prosecutions for over-billing and kickbacks.
2022-2025: Feeding Our Future (FOF) Overlap – A $250 million+ meal fraud scheme at child care sites led to 78 indictments and over 60 convictions, including Abdiaziz Farah (28 years) and Aimee Bock (pending sentencing). While not purely CCAP, it involved day care facilities and mirrored Shirley's "ghost children" claims.
2024-2025: Autism and Housing Programs – Federal charges against eight for defrauding millions in child-related services, with FBI raids.

These historical cases, totaling millions in verified losses and dozens of convictions, directly informed Shirley's investigations. His videos built on resurfaced 2015 surveillance footage of faked drop-offs, framing the 2025 allegations as an extension of unchecked patterns rather than isolated incidents.

The Citizen Journalism Breakthrough: Nick Shirley's Videos

At the heart of the 2025 scandal is Shirley's citizen-led reporting, which exemplified how independent creators can drive accountability. Relying on an anonymous whistleblower named "David" for documents, Shirley conducted fieldwork that mainstream outlets had not replicated in years. His primary video featured visits to centers like Quality Learning Center ($1.9 million in FY2025 funds) and Sweet Angel Child Care ($1.26 million), showing locked doors, blacked-out windows, and no children despite licensed capacities for hundreds.

Follow-up clips, shared on X and TikTok around December 28-29, included a call to Sweet Angel routing to Governor Tim Walz's office, suggesting potential cover-ups. Other citizen journalists amplified this, such as @EricLDaugh's footage of DHS raids and @geraldwayne's compilations, creating a network of grassroots exposure.

Shirley's methods—unannounced visits and public data reviews—mirrored tactics in prior investigations but added a viral, accessible layer, claiming $7-10 billion in total fraud across sectors. Critics, like University of Minnesota professor Jane Kirtley, compared it to activist journalism, but its impact was undeniable in prompting action.

Video/Clip	Key Allegations	Views (Dec 29, 2025)	Relevance to Prior Fraud
Main Exposé (Dec 26)	Empty centers, millions in funds, laundering ties	1.84M YouTube	Echoes 2015 "ghost children" cases
Sweet Angel Clip (Dec 28-29)	Call routes to Walz's office	50K+ X/TikTok	Builds on 2018 overbilling patterns
DHS Raid Footage (@EricLDaugh, Dec 29)	Agents questioning staff	56K+ X	Ties to 2022 FOF overlaps

Shirley's Videos - Connecting Past and Present

Shirley's work gained traction by linking 2025 observations to historical frauds. For instance, his footage of empty facilities directly paralleled 2015 hidden camera evidence from metro-area centers, where billing occurred without children present. Allegations of funds sent abroad echoed unproven 2018 claims, while the focus on Somali-owned centers resurfaced racial tensions from FOF convictions (85 of 98 charged of Somali descent).

By December 29, state inspections confirmed active licenses but minor violations, validating some concerns while disputing the scale. This relevance amplified citizen journalism's value in contextualizing ongoing issues.

Official Responses: From Raids to Defenses

The videos triggered swift federal action. FBI Director Kash Patel announced surged resources on December 28, building on pre-existing probes. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem deployed HSI and ICE agents for door-to-door investigations by December 29, captured in citizen footage.

Governor Walz responded defensively, emphasizing prior crackdowns like audits and a program integrity director, while criticizing racial framing: "Anyone committing fraud should go to prison," but also noting, "A majority of the crime is white men! A lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable, for the crimes that they have committed." In response to criticisms from figures like JD Vance, Walz escalated his rhetoric, stating, "They no longer hide the idea of white supremacy," suggesting that the focus on Somali-owned centers and the fraud allegations revealed underlying racism among critics. Walz argued that such exposures, when tied to immigrant communities, were being weaponized by those promoting white supremacist ideologies, and he called for broader accountability across demographics.

However, this framing has faced significant counterarguments, particularly in light of the demographics of those involved in the scandals. Critics point out that the convicted individuals in major cases like Feeding Our Future and related child care frauds are predominantly non-white, with a significant majority being Somali-American. For instance, of the 92 people charged in Minnesota's fraud cases as of late 2025, 82 are Somali-American, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. While a few defendants, such as FOF executive Aimee Bock (who is white and was convicted in 2025), are exceptions, the overwhelming majority of convictions—over 60 in FOF alone—involve individuals of Somali descent, such as Abdiaziz Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, and others. This demographic reality, detractors argue, undermines Walz's emphasis on "white men" committing the majority of crimes in this context, shifting the focus back to systemic oversight failures rather than racial deflection. State Commissioner Tikki Brown echoed concerns but questioned methods.

Public Reaction and Broader Implications

On X, outrage dominated, with demands for arrests and links to immigration. Political fallout included impeachment calls against Walz.

The scandal highlights oversight gaps, with reforms like 2019's $5 million investment proving insufficient. Walz's white supremacy comments have intensified backlash, with citizen journalists like Shirley directly responding, calling out the governor for what they see as evasive tactics amid evidence of fraud primarily involving non-white perpetrators.

The Power of Citizen Journalism in Accountability

Shirley's videos exemplify citizen journalism's potency: By democratizing investigation, they exposed entrenched issues, spurred federal raids, and forced official responses where traditional media lagged. In an era of distrust in institutions, such efforts matter profoundly, potentially preventing future fraud while navigating tensions around race and immigration. As probes continue, the 2025 scandal may redefine oversight in Minnesota—and beyond.

The final verdict regarding the value of Nick Shirley as a citizen journalists will be determined by whether or not the federal investigations that are under way yield any indictments and convictions.