Unearthed video shows parents, daycares gaming Minnesota childcare system for years

As federal authorities investigate reports of massive fraud at Minnesota daycare centers, a video unearthed from a 2018 fraud case shows parents and providers involved in a fraud scheme dating back to 2015.

Video from a 2018 local report by Fox shows parents checking their children into a day care center in Minnesota’s Hennepin County, but leaving with their children a few minutes later.

According to 2018, the video was captured from a security camera as part of a lawsuit filed by Hennepin County. fox 9 report. Under the program, low-income parents would enroll their children in daycare services so providers could then seek reimbursement for services that were never actually provided, according to Fox 9. The publication said some days no families would show up, according to surveillance video, but daycares would still seek reimbursement from the government.

The timestamp on the surveillance video reads March 2015.

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Another video on the stream showed a man handing an envelope to a parent who allegedly received commission payments for participating in the program.

This comes amid widespread outrage over a viral video posted by Nick Shirley on Friday showing visits to multiple child care centers in Minnesota; one of them allegedly received millions of dollars in government funding despite being largely inactive.

The video sparked widespread backlash and over the weekend, Vice President J.D. Vance, Donald Trump Jr. It has led to criticism of Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz from many high-profile figures, including Elon Musk and Elon Musk.

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GOP lawmakers in Minnesota are calling on Gov. Tim Walz to resign over the exploding fraud crisis. (Getty)

On Sunday, the White House republished an X post from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who called the alleged fraud a “breathtaking failure.”

At the time the video was released, Walz was already under heavy fire amid the scandal that has engulfed his administration and includes at least $1 billion lost due to allegations of social services fraud largely tied to the Somali community in Minneapolis.

Commenting on the resurfaced video, conservative strategist Greg Price wrote about X: “Somali scammers have been stealing money from taxpayers for years and it is clear that the entire Somali community is involved.”

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FBI Director Kash Patel stands silently during a press conference in New York on October 23, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)

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FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is sending additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of ongoing efforts to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes that exploit federal programs.”

Patel said Sunday that the bureau had funneled resources to the state before recent online attention intensified, pointing to the Feeding Our Future investigation that uncovered a $250 million scheme to siphon federal food aid for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patel said the case has already resulted in 78 indictments and 57 convictions, and prosecutors also accused the defendants of bribing a juror with $120,000 in cash in a separate conspiracy, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

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“The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to pursue the money and protect the children, and this investigation is very much ongoing,” he wrote on X.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan, Sophia Compton and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.