Nick Shirley fraud row: Musk, Kash Patel weigh in on Minnesota daycare allegations; Tim Walz responds

mn Gov. Tim Walz is veneer scrutiny after a video showing visits to multiple daycare centers in the state, including the one that allegedly received millions in state funding despite appearing inactive for a large part, went viral. Independent journalist Nick Shirley, the man behind the video, received support from Elon Musk and FBI Chief Kash Patel on Sunday.

Tesla and X CEO Musk made several posts in support of Shirley's allegations. He retweeted an interview in which he criticized the Democrats for making ‘fraudulent payments to illegals’.

“The single biggest thing Democrats are worried about is turning off fraudulent payments to illegals … By using entitlements fraud, the Democrats have been able to attract and retain vast numbers of illegal immigrants, and buy voters," Musk said.

“Why did they still receive funding and keep their license after so many violations and Zoolander-level-obvious fraud?” the billionaire asked in another post.

Shirley released a YouTube video titled ‘I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal’ on December 26. The independent journalist alleged that some daycare centers in Minnesota are receiving substantial government funding even though they are not operational.

“This is one of the hundreds of “daycares” receiving millions of dollars from the government, this daycare (that can’t even spell learning right) received $1,900,000 in tax exempt funding from CCAP," he said.

In another video, a resident told him:“I haven’t seen any children. I’ve been here since 2017."

“Want to become a multimillionaire without doing anything? Move to Minnesota and start a daycare!” read the caption of the post.

Shirley also made allegations against a Somali-operated facility. He alleged that Gov Tim Walz ‘knew about the fraud but never reported it’.

FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday said that the department is looking at the alleged $250 million fraud scheme, which is just ‘the tip of the iceberg’.

“To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network,” he posted.

"The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs," Patel announced on X.

After the allegations of fraud were made, Gov Walz's team gave out a statement to Fox News. It said that the Democrat, who was Kamala Harris' running mate in 2024, has spent years working to ‘crack down on fraud’.

“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” a spokesperson told the publication.

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