Minnesota officials, daycare manager reject viral video fraud claims: 'All that is false information'

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Minnesota officials and the manager of a Minneapolis daycare are pushing back hard against fraud allegations sparked by a viral video, insisting the claims don’t hold up and that inspections have repeatedly found no wrongdoing.

The controversy erupted after an independent journalist posted footage questioning whether some state-funded child care centers were operating as claimed, or collecting taxpayer money while sitting idle. State regulators say they’re taking the concerns seriously, but stress that prior inspections showed children present and no evidence of fraud. 

Viral video fuels allegations

The allegations stem from a video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley, who documented visits to several Minnesota daycare facilities, including the Quality Learning Center on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

In the footage, Shirley appears outside several locations that seem inactive at the time of filming, despite records showing they receive state child care assistance funds. One clip focuses on Quality Learning Center, which appeared quiet during the visit and featured a misspelled exterior sign reading “Quality Learing Center.”

The center is reportedly licensed for 99 children and has received roughly $4 million in state funding. These figures helped the video garner attention after it was posted on Friday on X and YouTube.

State officials say inspections found no fraud

At a Monday news conference, Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown said regulators were already aware of the video and its claims. She said they had not found evidence backing them up.

“We are aware of a video that's being circulated that has gained local and national attention about child care centers in Minnesota,” Brown said. “While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”

Brown said each facility mentioned in the video had been inspected at least once in the past six months as part of the state’s licensing process. Those inspections are supposedly conducted annually without advance notice to observe normal operations.

Inspectors, she said, found children present during those visits. “None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud,” Brown insisted, adding that there is currently no pause on payments to the centers named in the video.

Brown also raised questions about when the footage was shot, saying regulators are trying to determine whether the visits occurred during operating hours or on days when the centers were scheduled to be open.

She said the state is now conducting additional unannounced visits to address concerns raised by the video.

Daycare manager calls claims false

The manager of Quality Learning Center forcefully rejected the allegations, saying the video painted a misleading picture by filming outside posted hours and implying the business was inactive.

“There’s no fraud going on whatsoever,” said the center’s manager Ibrahim Ali. “Kids come to us, clients come to us, their parents come to us – they’re here daily, they leave on time, they come on time. There is no fraud going on whatsoever.”

Ali said the center operates Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. and primarily serves after-school children. He added that the daycare has remained open for more than eight years without interruption.

He also disputed comments made during the state briefing, suggesting the center had closed at some point due to space concerns. “We haven’t closed. We’ve never closed,” Ali said. “There was never a time where kids were told to stop coming. There was never a time we told our employees to stop coming. All that is false information.”

Ali said the allegations have harmed his business. Beyond the financial impact, Ali said the scrutiny has taken a toll on the broader Somali community.

“Are you trying to record that we’re doing fraud, or are you trying to put the Somali name and the fraud in the same sentence?” Ali said. “That’s what really hurt us the last couple of days.”

State officials said they would continue investigating any credible evidence of fraud and emphasized that additional site visits are ongoing. Ali, meanwhile, invited media and inspectors to visit the center during operating hours to see normal activity firsthand.

Journalist doubles down

Shirley has stood by his reporting. During a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show,” he said the alleged fraud was unmistakable.

The situation in Minnesota was “so obvious” that a “kindergartner could figure out that there is fraud going on,” Shirley said.

He also suggested other journalists might be reluctant to pursue similar investigations out of fear of backlash.

Shirley said reporters may avoid the topic because they worry about being labeled “Islamophobic” or “racist.”

“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” he declared.