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Recently, a citizen journalist exposed a fraud scandal in Minnesota concerning many of the state’s Somali-run daycares. It turns out, however, that many of these daycares are also tied to Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota-based nonprofit responsible for massive fraud.
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From the Daily Caller:
Multiple Somali daycare centers highlighted in a viral YouTube exposé on alleged fraud in Minnesota have direct ties to a nonprofit at the center of a $300 million scam, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Thursday.
The now-infamous videos from YouTube influencer Nick Shirley, posted Dec. 26, showed several purported Somali-run daycare centers receiving millions in taxpayer funds despite little evidence that children were actually present at the facilities. Now it turns out that five of the 10 daycare centers Shirley visited operated as meal sites for Feeding Our Future, the Minnesota-based nonprofit implicated in a massive fraud scheme that has already produced dozens of convictions, the outlet reported.
Between 2018 and 2021, those five businesses received nearly $5 million from Feeding Our Future, the outlet reported. While none of the centers in Shirley’s video have been legally accused of wrongdoing, the revelations underscore the sprawling web of fraud engulfing the state.
Over 70 individuals, most from the Somali community, have been charged with stealing over $300 million through Feeding Our Future. The Caller notes that the nonprofit funded meals for children across Minnesota during the pandemic. And prosecutors say that the leaders of Feeding Our Future, as well as many who ran “meal sites” sponsored by the nonprofit, submitted false or inflated information to receive sizable reimbursements.
In particular, one facility featured in Shirley’s video, the Minnesota Best Childcare Center, received $1.5 million from Feeding Our Future. Several other daycares featured by Shirley have been cited for countless rules violations, all while receiving taxpayer money from the state.
Why is this significant? It shows that the fraud in Minnesota went beyond simply one incident. This is bigger than a couple of daycare centers or a suspicious nonprofit. What dedicated journalists have found over the past few months points to a massive, interconnected web of sophisticated, years-long fraud. And all of this happened right under the nose of Governor Tim Walz, who has now, amid an oppressive storm of scandals, ended his campaign for reelection.
As more continues to come out about fraud in Minnesota, let’s pray for truth and justice!
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(Excerpt from the Daily Caller. Photo Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
