Somali-Run Minneapolis Daycare Says ‘Important Documents’ Were Stolen, Facility Vandalized

A Minneapolis daycare center run by Somali Americans said that its facility was broken into and vandalized early Tuesday morning.

Nasrulah Mohamed, the manager of Nokomis DayCare Center, said at a press conference on Wednesday that “important documents,” such as employee documentation and children’s enrollment papers, were stolen. The daycare blamed the recent viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley for inspiring the break-in. In Shirley’s video, the journalist went to numerous daycares in the Minneapolis area that receive government funding, but the facilities appeared closed in the middle of the day, sparking accusations of fraud.

“This is devastating news, and we don’t know why this is targeting our Somali community, as one video made by a specific individual made this all happen,” Mohamed said. “We’ve been receiving hateful messages through our voicemails, threatening us in the past couple of days, including one that happened yesterday morning after the break-in.”

Nokomis DayCare Center was not featured in Shirley’s video, but many daycares and learning centers linked to the Somali community have been accused of committing fraud following Shirley’s revelations.

The Minneapolis Police Department confirmed that Nokomis reported a break-in on Tuesday morning and informed police about the items allegedly stolen, Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul reported. The police department is investigating.

Mohamed was joined by a group of supporters at the press conference, some of whom held signs, including one that read, “Racism has no place in childcare.” Many people were skeptical of the daycare’s claims of a break-in that was motivated by Shirley’s video, including President Donald Trump, who commented on the story, saying, “A total FRAUD!”

The Trump administration deployed federal agents to Minneapolis to look into the fraud allegations and also froze funding for all child care payments to Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families said that each of the daycares featured in Shirley’s video was recently visited by state inspectors for annual licensing reviews. The department added that it would follow up to investigate claims of fraud at the daycares.

Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

“We have high-quality daycares, and this is very sad news that one individual who made a false claim about fraud that is happening in daycares can get everyone else to come and do this to us,” Mohamed said.

The manager of a Minneapolis daycare that was featured in Shirley’s video also shot back at the fraud accusations and said that Shirley’s reporting was an attempt to “put out a certain message about a certain group [of people].” Ibrahim Ali, the manager of the daycare that misspelled its sign, Quality “Learing” Center, told reporters earlier this week, “Kids come to us, clients come to us, their parents come to us – they’re here daily, they leave on time, they come on time. There is no fraud going on whatsoever.”

Minnesota’s social programs have been at the center of fraud investigations. One of the recent fraud scandals involved the “Feeding Our Future” program, which received federal funds and claimed to distribute meals to hungry children during the COVID pandemic but allegedly never did so. The vast majority of those charged in the fraud scheme were of Somali descent.