Federal agents executed multiple search warrants in Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in an ongoing fraud investigation by the Trump administration into publicly funded social programs for children, authorities said.
The searches occurred months after right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video alleging that members of Minnesota's Somali community were running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies. The posts caught the attention of the administration and conservative activists. The searches targeted daycares, businesses and residences across the Minneapolis area, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican legislative leaders pushed back on Walz's framing after his State of the State address. While the governor made hints at taking accountability, he immediately turned to pointing fingers at other states, House GOP Floor Leader Harry Niska told reporters.
The Department of Homeland Security, which participated in the searches along with various state and federal agencies including Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, issued a statement defending the operation. The American people deserve to know how their taxpayer money was abused. No stone will be left unturned, DHS said.
FBI Director Kash Patel used social media to mock Walz for taking credit while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship, referring to Walz's earlier statements about cooperation.
Jason Steck, an attorney who represents childcare centers, described the targets as including Somali immigrant-operated businesses. A few childcare centers, a few autism centers, a few healthcare agencies of some type, Steck said, adding it appeared to be a particular sweep for fraud.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz welcomed the federal raids Tuesday, saying he had already promised to devote his energies to fighting fraud when he dropped out of the governor's race in January amid President Donald Trump's focus on fraud allegations and the state's Somali community.
We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it, Walz said in a statement. Minnesota's child welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement to hold bad actors accountable.
In his final State of the State speech Tuesday night, Walz told lawmakers that he had promised to fight fraud back in January when he dropped out of the governor's race. Some of you will take that as an open invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes place here in Minnesota, even though I have to tell you, statistics show it's happening in red states more than here, he said.
Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal government on fraud investigations. The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale, he said at the time.
What the Numbers Show
Minnesota has faced significant fraud allegations in recent years. At least 65 people, many of them Somali Americans, have been convicted of ripping off a federal program that was meant to provide food to children.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that as much as $9 billion in federal funds supporting 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen, according to statements made in December. The investigation began during the Biden administration.
In February, Vice President JD Vance said the government would temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families. A judge on April 6 declined to grant a restraining order against the funding pause.
At least two of the search sites appeared in Shirley's original video about alleged fake childcare centers. KSTP-TV reported that agents at one location even had a battering ram.
The Bottom Line
The searches represent an escalation of federal scrutiny into Minnesota's social programs under the Trump administration, which has focused heavily on fraud allegations against the state's Somali community. Walz, who ended his bid for a third term as governor in January, has sought to position himself as cooperative with fraud investigations while simultaneously arguing that Minnesota is being singled out.
Republican legislative leaders said Walz failed during his speech to take adequate responsibility for fraud on his watch and called for stronger action. The governor urged lawmakers to pass the anti-fraud package he unveiled in February, which remains under consideration in the state legislature.