WASHINGTON (TNND) — There has been a swift reaction to new claims of fraud in Minnesota, following a now viral video, allegedly showing dozens of examples of federally funded businesses that don’t do what they say they do.
FBI director Kash Patel posted on X Sunday that he’s already surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.
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.”
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security posted a video of agents”going door to door at suspected fraud sites in Minnesota.”
It followed some shocking allegations in the 43-minute video posted by Conservative social media influencer Nick Shirley, showing what appeared to be empty daycare centers, mostly run by members of the Somali community, which receive millions of dollars in taxpayer money.
“Are the children here today?” Shirley asks. The woman inside responds, ” No.”
He also visits a building that lists more than a dozen healthcare companies at the same address, raising major questions about whether they’re companies at all.
“All of these businesses are literally the same type of business providing the same service in the same building,” Shirley comments.
Alarm bells are also sounding about companies connected to what Minnesota’s Department of Human Services website calls “Non-Emergency medical transportation services, ” to get people to and from nonemergency medical service appointments.”
Another man in Shirley’s video named “David,” who said he’s been digging into the claims of fraud in his state for years, said he wondered how many such companies existed.
“The research came back that there are 1020 of them, and 800 of them are Somali-owned. Nobody from the state of Minnesota ever cross-checks to see if rides were ever provided. All they did was write the check,” he said.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is calling the video “jawdropping” announcing the House Oversight Committee has expanded its investigation.
With partners in the Senate also promising action.
In an interview on Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R, Wisconsin, said he plans to follow the money, in particular, “agency heads who funnel this money to the state agencies.”
He added, “I am chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. This will be a primary focus of ours. Unfortunately, in particularly Democrat controlled states, they are not refusing to turn over those records i have subpoena power. I will use that subpoena power to obtain these records.”
Rep. Tom Emmer, R, Minnesota, also appeared on Fox News on Sunday.
“Well, it’s amazing to me that a 23-year-old journalist, a YouTuber, who’s now got over 80 million views on this thing, found more in a matter of hours than Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, our Attorney General, have found in seven years,” he said.
The latest claims follow multiple others in the state, with more than a *billion* dollars in reported fraud.
The biggest case, in which so far 78 people have been charged, involved a group called “Feeding our Future,” which received hundreds of millions of dollars to provide meals it never did.
Minnesota fraud cases so far have resulted in 92 people charged. 82 of whom are Somali American, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A spokesman for Gov. Tim Walz, D, Minnesota, told Fox News in a statement that Walz has spent years working to “crack down on fraud” and has taken steps to strengthen oversight of state programs, including initiating investigations into several facilities.
Earlier this month, Walz responded to news of the earlier fraud allegations.
“This is on my watch. I am accountable for this, and more importantly, I am the one who will fix it,” he said.
Finding a fix for fraud is also now expected to be a top priority when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill,
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