Ghost Daycares, Somali Networks, and a Phone Line Straight to Walz’s Office
Nick Shirley’s December 26 video ripped open Minnesota’s welfare plunder. Empty licensed childcare centers pocketed millions in taxpayer cash while no children ever showed up. One day’s footage tallied over $110 million in ghost payments. Federal prosecutors now admit the total theft tops $9 billion across programs run by Democrats in St. Paul.
Shirley hit Quality Learning Center on Lake Street. Sign botched “learning” as “learing.” Licensed for 99 kids, the place stood deserted. A man inside swore no daycare ran there. State records handed it $1.9 million in Child Care Assistance Program funds for 2025 alone—part of $4 million total.
Sweet Angel Child Care Inc at 2740 Minnehaha Avenue grabbed $1.26 million the same year. Cameras caught dead space and locked doors. The listed phone (651-201-3400) rang straight into the Minnesota Governor’s Office public line. Callers proved it live on video. No one explains why a ghost center shares Tim Walz’s direct contact.
These centers operate in Somali-heavy Minneapolis zones. Holder Naley Mahmoud Abdulle ran Sweet Angel under Somali ownership. Patterns match the convicted: bill for nothing, deliver nothing, cash out big.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson laid it bare December 18. Fraud swallowed over $9 billion—half the $18 billion billed since 2018 across 14 programs. Industrial-scale theft turned Minnesota into a scammer’s paradise. Somali networks dominate the defendants.
Federal indictments nailed 78 in the $250 million Feeding Our Future rip-off. Most defendants carry Somali names. They faked meal sites for kids who never existed. Cash bought mansions, Lamborghinis, and wired overseas. Fifty-seven convictions stick by late 2025. Some crossed into autism and housing scams with the same playbook.
USDA rules demand verified meals under 7 CFR Part 226. CCAP demands real attendance. State agencies under Walz ignored both during COVID handouts. The 2024 Legislative Auditor report exposed the cowardice: regulators froze, terrified of racism charges.
Nine billion dollars stolen from taxpayers. Gone to fraud rings. That money could have fed, housed, and cared for actual Minnesota families. Instead, it enriched scammers while Democrats demand even more welfare billions.
In 2017 Minnesota charged four CCAP providers for fake billing.
In 2023 California busted $10 million in daycare ghosts.
Wire fraud carries hard time under 18 U.S.C. § 1343. DHS can cut funds instantly on suspicion. 2025 fixes finally allow it.
FBI Director Kash Patel hit Minnesota hard December 28. He pointed straight at Shirley’s video and related reports. Prior cases mark the tip of the iceberg. Agents now hunt denaturalization and deportation for the thieves.
Tim Walz runs the state that licensed these ghosts and wired the cash. His office phone ends up on a fraud center’s listing. He blames federal rules and claims fixes years late. Democrats still push endless welfare expansion while the plunder runs unchecked.
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