Agents armed with search warrants keep focus on Minnesota in public
fraud probe
[April 29, 2026]
By MARK VANCLEAVE and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents executed multiple searches in
Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in an ongoing
fraud investigation by the Trump administration of publicly funded
social programs for children, authorities said.
No details about possible crimes were disclosed, though armed agents
were seen at childcare centers in the Minneapolis area. KSTP-TV said one
crew even had a battering ram.
The searches occurred months after right-wing influencer Nick Shirley
posted a video that said members of Minnesota’s Somali community were
running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies. It caught
the attention of the administration and conservative activists, though
inspectors said the centers were operating as expected.
Minnesota has been dogged by fraud: At least 65 people, many of them
Somali Americans, have been convicted of ripping off a federal program
that was meant to provide food to children. The investigation began
during the Biden administration.
Separately, a federal prosecutor in December said as much as $9 billion
in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may
have been stolen.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has been on the defensive about not doing
enough to root out fraud, welcomed the raids Tuesday. Minnesota’s child
welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement to
“hold bad actors accountable.”
“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information.
Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” Walz
said.
The searches were being conducted at day cares, businesses and some
residences, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to
The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
Various state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland
Security, participated in searches. At least two of the sites were in
Shirley's video. Officers from Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension were removing boxes at some locations.
Federal officials justify searches as smoking out fraud
“The American people deserve to know how their taxpayer money was
abused. ... No stone will be left unturned,” said DHS, which also noted
the cooperation of local and state authorities.
On social media, FBI Director Kash Patel mocked Walz for taking credit
“while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your
governorship.”
Jason Steck, an attorney who represents childcare centers, said some of
the targeted businesses were operated by Somali immigrants. They were
not his clients.
“A few childcare centers, a few autism centers, a few healthcare
agencies of some type,” Steck said, adding that it appeared to be a
“particular sweep for fraud.”
The executive director of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, a nonprofit
that serves childhood educators, said the publicity is unflattering.
[to top of second column]
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A federal officer stands outside the Mini Child Care Center
(formerly Mako Childcare) in Minneapolis, Minn., Tuesday, April 28,
2026. (Anthony Soufflé/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP) CORRECTION:
Mini Child Care, not Mako Child Care
“The majority are in business to do good business. You’re going to
come across individuals who try to capitalize on systems that are
broken and need to be fixed,” Candace Yates said.
Walz ended his bid for a third term as governor in early January
amid President Donald Trump’s relentless focus on fraud allegations
and the state’s Somali community. Trump has used dehumanizing
rhetoric, calling Somali immigrants “garbage” and “low IQ.”
Tensions between Walz and the federal government subsequently
rocketed during an extraordinary immigration crackdown that led to
the deaths of two people before Operation Metro Surge was eased in
February.
In February, Vice President JD Vance said the government would
temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over
fraud concerns. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to
cut healthcare for low-income families, but a judge on April 6
declined to grant a restraining order.
Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal
government in fraud investigations, but that the immigration surge
had made it more difficult.
“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for
political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” he said at the
time.
Governor discusses fraud in State of the State
Walz touched on the searches Tuesday night when he delivered his
final State of the State speech, noting that he promised to devote
his energies to fighting fraud back in January when he dropped out
of the governor’s race.
“I’ve said the buck stops with me,” he told a joint meeting of the
state House and Senate. “Some of you will take that as an open
invitation to play politics with every incident of fraud that takes
place here in Minnesota, even though I have to tell you, statistics
show it’s happening in red states more than here. But so be it.”
The governor said that if lawmakers take fraud seriously, they
should help him out by passing the anti-fraud package he unveiled in
February.
But Republican legislative leaders said afterward that Walz failed
during his speech to take adequate responsibility for fraud on his
watch.
“While the governor made hints at taking accountability, he
immediately turned to pointing fingers — to pointing fingers at
other states,” House GOP Floor Leader Harry Niska told reporters.
___
Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers
Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Corey Williams and Ed
White in Detroit contributed.
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