Journalist who exposed Minnesota day-care fraud says investigate THESE people now

Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old conservative YouTuber and independent journalist, gained national attention in late December 2025 after posting a viral 43-minute video titled, "I Investigated Minnesota's Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal," in which he visited several Minneapolis childcare centers — primarily Somali-run — and claimed they were empty or inactive despite receiving millions in federal and state government funding.

Shirley's footage showed locked doors, blacked out windows, and no visible children during his visits despite public payment records, sparking national scrutiny, federal investigations by the FBI and DHS, a temporary freeze on childcare funding to Minnesota (and briefly nationwide), and political fallout — most notably Gov. Tim Walz (D) dropping his re-election bid.

On yesterday’s episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Shirley told Glenn that the Minnesota day-care fraud he exposed doesn’t even scratch the surface. If we want to see how deep the corruption really goes, there are several people who absolutely must be investigated.

Shirley’s first thought when he uncovered that massive fraud scheme was, “If millions — quite literally billions — of dollars is being given to these day-care centers, how come the government doesn't know that the money is being spent here?”

More digging revealed the answer: “They’re all in on it,” he says.

“They just announced today the U.N. ambassador of Somalia is involved in all of this,” adds Glenn.

But he’s certainly not the only one with blood on his hands.

Tim Walz’s exit is almost certainly an evasion of deeper scrutiny or accountability for the fraud scandals. Glenn and Shirley agree that he must be investigated regardless.

But a Walz probe is just the beginning. “Everyone involved over at the capital in Minnesota and the DHS who was cutting the checks [needs to be investigated],” says Shirley.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who’s known for her advocacy for childcare funding, tops his list of people who need to be immediately investigated. “She has photos of her outside of ‘Quality Learing Center,”’ he says.

This center, which has repeatedly been mocked for missing the "n" in what is supposed to say “Learning,” was one of the main day-care centers featured in Shirley’s exposé. Extensive video footage shows a nearly empty parking lot, locked doors, and no visible activity despite the center receiving millions in funding and being licensed for dozens of kids.

Another person who needs to be investigated, says Shirley, is Omar Fateh, the Somali-American Democratic Socialist and Minnesota state senator who snagged a shady DFL endorsement in Minneapolis’ mayoral race through a rigged convention, only to have it stripped over vote irregularities.

“[Fateh] had a brother-in-law or some family member who was in charge of one of the day cares that had also been receiving $2 million, and they actually had so many violations they shut down the day care; then the next day they reopened,” says Shirley. “That guy was about to become mayor.”

“And so all these people are in on the fraud. They all know it's happening,” he reiterates.

“Well, somebody clearly had to. You can't have that much money rolling around. A lot of people knew,” Glenn agrees.

To hear more of the interview, watch the video above.

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