(MINNESOTA, USA) — DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Homeland Security Investigations agents are making “door-to-door” visits in Minneapolis as federal investigators pursue alleged fraud tied to childcare and other programs.
“The American people deserve answers on how their taxpayer money is being used and ARRESTS when abuse is found. Under the leadership of @Sec_Noem, DHS is working to deliver results,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a tweet.
Noem described the effort as wide-ranging, writing:
“Homeland Security Investigations @ICEGov are on the ground in Minneapolis right now conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.”
Federal agents were deployed to Minneapolis on Monday to investigate alleged fraud, DHS said, after a viral video amplified claims of widespread abuse in government-funded childcare initiatives in Minnesota.
Videos posted by DHS and Noem on X showed investigators visiting at least two businesses in Burnsville, according to the agency’s statements about the operation and what appeared in the footage. One site appeared to be a smoke shop, and another was listed as a learning center.
Investigators in the videos were shown visiting the Quality Learning Center, a facility with an active state license but past reported violations, according to the information described alongside the DHS posts and details cited about the center’s status.
The Quality Learning Center had notified the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families on December 19 that it was closing, but officials learned Monday afternoon the facility decided to remain open, according to the information provided about the facility’s communications with the state.
The push in Minnesota followed a viral video by YouTuber Nick Shirley that claimed extensive fraud within government-funded childcare initiatives in the state, according to the description of what triggered the federal action.
FBI Director Kash Patel responded publicly to the video, saying the bureau’s investigation into Minnesota fraud was already ongoing and describing existing cases as “just the tip of the iceberg.”
As federal agencies highlighted the new door-to-door component of the work in Minnesota, prosecutors in the state have been pursuing fraud cases tied to federal programs, including those connected to childcare funding.
In December, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said he suspected approximately $9 billion in federal funds supporting 14 Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been misappropriated, though he did not provide details on how he calculated the figure.
Thompson has charged over 90 defendants, with the vast majority being Somali Americans, according to the account of his prosecutions and the defendants he has pursued.
Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, and his administration pushed back against allegations that fraud was as rampant as claimed, saying there is no evidence it rose to that scale.
Walz’s office said the governor “has worked for years to crack down on fraud” and has “strengthened oversight—including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” according to the statement described from the governor’s office.
The same office said the state hired an outside firm to audit high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program, and supported criminal prosecutions, as it laid out steps it said were already underway.
State oversight of childcare assistance has also remained active, with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families reporting 55 open investigations related to the Child Care Assistance Program.
The federal operation publicized by Noem focused attention on sites that investigators said were suspected of fraud, with the DHS videos emphasizing in-person visits rather than paper-only inquiries.
By choosing to publicize the work on X, DHS and Noem placed the visuals of investigators at Burnsville locations alongside the department’s call for accountability and arrests when wrongdoing is found.
Noem’s description of “door-to-door” visits framed the Minnesota effort as part of a broader federal crackdown on alleged fraud in childcare and other programs, according to the way she and DHS characterized the operation.
The door-to-door visits shown in the posted videos appeared to include at least two businesses in Burnsville, which DHS identified in describing where investigators were conducting visits as part of the Minnesota effort.
Among the locations shown was a site listed as a learning center, with the Quality Learning Center identified in the information about what was being visited and why it drew investigators’ attention.
The state’s children and families agency had been notified by the Quality Learning Center that it was closing, but learned later it would remain open, reflecting the shifting status of a facility that had already drawn scrutiny for past reported violations despite holding an active license.
The viral video’s claims, Patel’s response, and Noem’s announcement combined to create a rapid escalation in public attention, as federal agencies and state officials offered sharply different assessments of the scope of the alleged wrongdoing in Minnesota programs.
Patel’s comment that known cases were “just the tip of the iceberg” suggested investigators believe more activity remains undiscovered, while Walz’s administration said allegations of rampant fraud lacked evidentiary support.
DHS, for its part, cast the federal effort as a response to public demands for answers and enforcement, writing that Americans deserve explanations for how taxpayer money is used and “ARRESTS when abuse is found.”
Thompson’s assertion that approximately $9 billion across 14 programs since 2018 may have been misappropriated provided one of the largest figures cited in the broader debate, though he did not detail how he arrived at it.
The prosecutions Thompson has pursued have also drawn attention because the vast majority of defendants charged are Somali Americans, a detail noted in the description of the cases as Minnesota’s fraud investigations have expanded.
While DHS highlighted investigative activity on the ground in Minneapolis, Walz’s office pointed to oversight measures it said were already in place, including investigations into specific facilities referenced in the administration’s response.
The governor’s office also cited structural steps such as using an outside firm to audit high-risk programs and shutting down the Housing Stabilization Services program, while continuing to support criminal prosecutions.
Minnesota’s children and families agency has kept open cases related to childcare assistance, reporting 55 open investigations connected to the Child Care Assistance Program as scrutiny intensified around how public funds are distributed and monitored.
Noem’s posts and DHS’s tweet framed the moment as a test of government accountability, placing the emphasis on finding answers and pursuing arrests where investigators conclude abuse occurred.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced a federal investigation into alleged childcare fraud in Minneapolis, featuring ‘door-to-door’ visits by agents. The operation, fueled by social media reports and prior FBI investigations, targets the suspected misappropriation of billions in taxpayer funds. Minnesota officials defend their existing oversight, while federal prosecutors have already charged over 90 individuals, highlighting a growing tension between state and federal assessments of the situation.
