Gov Tim Walz's office claims he has 'worked for years to crack down on fraud' in Minnesota after viral Nick Shirley exposé

Following a report from independent journalist Nick Shirley regarding fraud in Minnesota at childcare facilities, Governor Tim Walz’s office has defended his record, claiming that the Democrat and former vice-presidential candidate has worked “for years" and strengthened oversight into the facilities.

A spokesperson for Walz’s office told Fox News, "The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed."

The spokesperson said that Walz has "hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions."

This comes after Shirley released a 42-minute video on Friday in which he outlined fraud that has taken place in Minnesota. In the video, Shirley visited a childcare center that received around $4 million and is supposed to account for 99 kids. One childcare center he visited, which has "learning" misspelled on its sign outdoors, was largely inactive. At another empty daycare facility, he is told that he cannot enroll his son "Joey" by Somali-speaking workers.

The video comes as attention has focused on Minnesota, with millions of dollars in fraud being discovered. The largest fraud case out of the state concerned the organization Feeding Our Future, which claimed to feed hungry children. However, funds instead went to the pockets of organizers. Of the dozens of people charged and/or convicted in the case, the majority have been of Somali descent.

The FBI has now threatened to denaturalize and deport Somalis in the United States who have been allegedly using fraudulent businesses in Minnesota to profit from government grants and subsidies. FBI Director Kash Patel wrote, "The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs. Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide. To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network."

He added, "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. Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible."