Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reacts as he speaks at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Convention in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A lawmaker is calling on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to explain a new report involving an alleged fake daycare center that allegedly received $4 million in state funds despite an apparent lack of activity and Somali fraud, according to offiicals.
GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents the state, took to social media to question Walz after independent journalist Nick Shirley shared a 42-minute video showing him as he attempted to confront daycare staff members.
“Federal prosecutors say that 59 people have been convicted in those schemes so far, and that more than $1 billion in taxpayers’ money has been stolen in three plots they are investigating. That is more than Minnesota spends annually to run its Department of Corrections,” the New York Times reported.
Emmer’s post included a clip of the footage. In the video, which was released on Friday afternoon, Shirley is seen standing outside an alleged daycare center,” The Quality Learing Center” [sic].
He points to a sign above the door, which includes a misspelled word.
“4 million dollars of hard earned tax dollars going to and an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly,” Emmer wrote on X.
“Care to explain this one, @tim_walz?” he added.
The video shows a woman yelling, “Don’t open up. It’s ICE.” She also tells Shirley and his team to “go away.”
Shirley asks the woman how she feels about the fraud that’s taking place in Minnesota, but she continues to holler.
“You’re not welcome here,” she says.
Citing Minnesota DHS records, KSTP reported that the Quality Learning Center racked up 95 violations from the state agency between 2019 and 2023. The media outlet noted that violations included “failure to keep hazardous items away from children,” as well as “no records for 16 children.”
“Tim Walz and the fraudsters aren’t escaping this one,” Shirley wrote on X, adding that no children were present at the center. “In one day my crew and I uncovered over $110,000,000 in fraud, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We the people simply work too hard and pay too much in taxes to allow this to happen, they must be held accountable.”
Billionaire Elon Musk also shared the video. He captioned the post, “Prosecute @GovTimWalz.”
The news comes as a $1 billion Somali fraud case was uncovered in Minnesota.
Earlier in December, the White House said the fraud involved “a massive, complex network of nonprofits and affiliates” linked to the Somali community, with nonprofits claiming to be helping thousands of hungry children, providing services to homeless people, as well as providing therapy for autistic Somali children.
“Kickbacks were paid, lavish lifestyles were funded, and money was sent overseas — some of it even allegedly funneled to a terror group,” according to the White House.
President Donald Trump recently called Minnesota “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and announced he was terminating Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota, a legal safeguard against deportation for immigrants from certain countries. He also said he did not want immigrants from the war-torn East African country to stay in the U.S.
“We can go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” he said, adding that Minnesota has become a “hellhole” because of them.
“Somalians should be out of here,” he told reporters. “They’ve destroyed our country.”
