Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against the ever-growing fraud allegations levied against him in the disastrous aftermath of a viral video where an independent journalist cracked open a crucial part of the alleged Somali aid scheme.

A spokesperson for Walz, a Democrat who frequently provokes President Trump’s ire, addressed a bombshell video posted by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley.

“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 told Fox News.

The spokesperson added 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.”

In the 43-minute video published on Friday, Shirley and a Minnesotan named David travel around Minneapolis and visit multiple childcare and learning centers allegedly owned by Somali immigrants.

Many were either shuttered entirely, despite signage indicating they were open, or helmed by staff who refused to participate in the video.

One of the buildings they visited displayed a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center.” The ‘learning’ center is supposed to account for at least 99 children and funneled roughly $4 million in state funds, according to the video.

Shirley appeared on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show” on Sunday evening and boasted about his findings. He joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartener could figure out there is fraud going on.”

“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” Shirley said.

“There better be change. People are demanding it. The investigation have been launched just from that video alone. So there better be change, like I said we work way too hard to be paying taxes and not knowing where our money’s going,” he added.

Many officials have echoed Shirley’s calls for change, with FBI Director Kash Patel even announcing that the agency surged extra personnel to investigate the resources doled out to Minnesota. He said this is one of the first steps in a wide-reaching effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

Federal investigators say half of the $18 billion granted to Minnesota since 2018 could have been stolen by fraudulent schemes — amounting to up to $9 billion in theft.

As of Saturday evening, 86 people have been charged in relation to these fraud scams, with 59 convicted so far.

Most of those accused of fraud come from Minnesota’s Somali community.

Shirley’s mega-viral video cracked 100 million views Sunday night.

The FBI has deployed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs”, director Kash Patel said on social media on Sunday.

The FBI director said the agency had already dismantled a $250m fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during the Covid pandemic in a case that led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions.

Patel said the FBI believes “this is just the tip of a very large iceberg”. Some of those involved in the alleged scheme are being “referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible”.

Patel’s comments comes after federal prosecutors estimate as much as $9bn has been stolen across schemes linked to the state’s Somalia population, a figure nearly equivalent to Somalia’s entire GDP.

The FBI director also said he was aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota, which appears to refer to an online report by independent journalist Nick Shirley about a daycare center in Minneapolis that received $4m despite reportedly having no enrolled kids. The 42-minute video has been viewed 84m times since it was posted on 26 December.

Patel said the FBI had surged personnel and resources into the state before the video and attendant conversation escalated online.

The Trump administration has portrayed Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community as a locus of widespread fraud, much of it allegedly perpetrated during the Covid pandemic.

Last month, Donald Trump ended legal protections for Somalis in Minnesota and accused the state of being “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” under its Democratic governor, Tim Walz.

Somali Americans, Trump has said, “come from hell”, “contribute nothing” and should “go back to where they came from”. He has also described Minnesota’s Democratic representative Ilhan Omar as “garbage” and said “her friends are garbage.”

Omar has called Trump’s “obsession” with her and Somali Americans “creepy and unhealthy.”

“We are not, and I am not, someone to be intimidated,” Omar said earlier this month, “and we are not gonna be scapegoated.”

Omar has accused agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of pulling her constituents off the streets, including questioning her son. She has said she is being forced to address questions about her own immigration status.

In an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune published on Friday, Omar called Trump’s immigration policy “cruel” during his first administration, “and now it’s just outright dangerous and severely inhumane” and “geared towards this sort of white supremacist view of what America should be”.

And she worries that “we’re not even at the worst yet, that there is probably more to come.”

Omar has come under further pressure from the administration after it was revealed that her husband and former political consultant, Tim Mynett’s, $25m venture capital firm, Rose Lake Capital, recently purged key officer details from its website after questions were raised about the couple’s wealth.

The couple’s net worth surged 3,500% in just one year, according to reports, and their net worth is now anywhere between $6m and $30m. The venture capital firm alone, per the filing, is worth between $5m and $25m.

The firm’s officials and advisors that have been removed from Rose Lake Capital’s website include Adam Ereli, Barack Obama’s former ambassador to Bahrain; Max Baucus, Obama’s ambassador to China; Alex Hoffman, the former finance chair of the Democratic National Committee; and former DNC treasurer William Derrough.

Omar has not been accused of wrongdoing, but reports say that three people accused of defrauding the state have alleged ties to the congresswoman.

Asked about her support of the Meals Act, a bill that changed school meal reimbursement rules during the pandemic and has been connected to systems of fraud, Omar told Fox News Digital, it has not contributed to the fraud and “it did help feed kids”.

Details

By Levi Rickert

December 27, 2025

Native Vote. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation and a candidate for the U.S. Senate, is facing backlash from right-wing commentators after wearing a hijab during a visit to a mosque this month, a gesture she said was meant to show respect and solidarity with Muslim communities amid growing concerns about religious intolerance and hate.

In a video released on Christmas and aired on SomaliTV of Minnesota and later posted to YouTube, Flanagan is seen wearing a hijab while speaking in defense of Minnesota’s Somali community, which has been the target of repeated attacks by President Donald Trump.

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump said he does not want Somali people in the United States.

Please support our year-end campaign. CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

“They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks and we don’t want them in our country,” Trump said.

Flanagan, who has served as an elected official in Minnesota for more than a decade — first as a state representative and now as lieutenant governor — expressed a sharply different view.

“I am incredibly clear that the Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota,” Flanagan said while speaking at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis alongside local officials.

Her remarks come as federal immigration agents have stepped up arrests of people in the country illegally who are linked to serious crimes in the Twin Cities area, and as Minnesota continues to see ongoing fraud investigations.

Flanagan, who identifies as Catholic on her campaign website, sought to reassure members of the Somali community during her visit.

“We’ve got your back,” she said. “Things are scary right now, and just know that there are more people who are looking out for you than you know.”

The appearance drew swift criticism online from some pro-Trump commentators. Far-right activist and former congressional candidate Laura Loomer wrote, “Any politician who embraces Islam must be removed from office.” Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon also criticized the visit, writing that it amounted to Christians and Catholics “bending the knee” to appease what he described as an “entitled Somalian thug ethos.”

Muslim women say wearing a hijab is both a personal expression of faith and, for many, a religious obligation, though practices vary. Advocates note that misunderstandings about the garment have often fueled discrimination.

Flanagan said the visit reinforced her commitment to opposing hate and supporting religious freedom.

“Minnesota’s strength is its diversity,” she said. “Everyone deserves to feel safe practicing their faith and living openly as who they are.”

The visit comes as state and local leaders nationwide grapple with rising hate crimes and efforts to build trust across communities. For Flanagan, she said, that work begins with showing up.

“While the lieutenant governor was showing her support for small businesses and communities being terrorized by ICE, she was handed a scarf by a friend and briefly wore it out of respect,” said Alexandra Fetissoff, a spokesperson for Flanagan.

“The real outrage should not be a scarf, but masked men throwing American citizens into vans and violating the Constitution,” Fetissoff said.

Flanagan is running in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tina Smith, who is not seeking reelection in November 2026. Her main opponent is U.S. Rep. Angie Craig.

More Stories Like This

Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. Briefs
US Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Haaland Meets with Southern New Mexico Law Enforcement on Public Safety Priorities
This Day in History – Dec. 26, 1862: 38 Dakota Men Executed by Order of Abraham Lincoln

About The Author

Author: Levi RickertEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Levi “Calm Before the Storm” Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at [email protected].