Minnesota Fraud Scandal Prompts Citizen Inquiries in Ohio, Washington

Citizen investigators have gone viral posting interactions at Ohio and Washington childcare providers following fraud scandal in Minnesota.

A sign is shown as first Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, not seen, delivers remarks during a news conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office inside the U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis on Dec. 18, 2025. Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP

Americans in Ohio and Washington have hit the streets to investigate if childcare centers in their neighborhoods were fake after YouTuber Nick Shirley went viral for investigating allegations of systemwide fraud in Minnesota’s childcare programs.

Shirley’s videos, which featured drop-ins at child care centers owned by Somali immigrants, happened amid the FBI’s own probe into widespread fraud schemes by individuals that funneled millions of dollars into Minnesota’s Somali community.