Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is pushing back hard as fraud allegations against him continue to snowball, following the explosive fallout of a viral video in which an independent journalist claims to have exposed a key piece of an alleged Somali aid scheme.
A spokesperson for Walz — the Democrat who often draws President Trump’s fire — responded to a bombshell video released by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley that quickly set off a political firestorm.
“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” the spokesperson told Fox News.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sits in focused silence during a high-stakes hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee at the U.S. Capitol on June 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Getty Images
The spokesperson said Walz has taken decisive action — bringing in an independent firm to audit payments tied to high-risk programs, shutting down the Housing Stabilization Services program altogether, appointing a new statewide director of program integrity, and backing criminal prosecutions where warranted.
The spokesperson added that Walz has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”
In the 43-minute video released Friday, Shirley teams up with a Minnesota resident named David to crisscross Minneapolis, stopping at several child care and learning centers that are alleged to be owned by Somali immigrants.
Many of the locations appeared completely shut down despite signs claiming they were open, while others were staffed by workers who declined to take part in the video.
On Friday, YouTuber Nick Shirley released a viral exposé that claims to uncover new details tied to the alleged Somali aid scheme. X / Nick Shirley
One building they stopped at bore a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center.” According to the video, the so-called learning center was listed as serving at least 99 children and had reportedly received nearly $4 million in state funding.
Shirley appeared on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show” Sunday evening and boasted about his findings. He joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartner could figure out there is fraud going on.
“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” Shirley said.
Shirley was escorted out of one of the centers for trespassing. X / Nick Shirley
Shirley joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartner could figure out there is fraud going on.” X / Nick Shirley
“There better be change. People are demanding it. The investigation have been launched just from that video alone. So there better be change, like I said, we work way too hard to be paying taxes and not knowing where our money’s going,” he added.
Many officials have echoed Shirley’s calls for accountability, with FBI Director Kash Patel announcing that the agency has deployed additional personnel to probe how resources were distributed in Minnesota. He described it as an early step in a sweeping effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has deployed extra personnel to investigate alleged fraud in Minnesota. FNTV
Federal investigators warn that up to half of the $18 billion allocated to Minnesota since 2018 may have been siphoned off through fraudulent schemes — potentially totaling as much as $9 billion in theft.
As of Saturday evening, 86 individuals have been charged in connection with these fraud schemes, with 59 already convicted.
Authorities say the majority of those accused of fraud are from Minnesota’s Somali community.
By Sunday night, Shirley’s mega-viral video had racked up 100 million views.
