Independent journalist Nick Shirley, along with his researcher simply known as “David” made a return trip to the Quality Learning Center in Minneapolis, both decked out in sweatshirts with “1-800 FRAUD” scrawled across them, after the release of a video that has now gone viral for alleging fraud at state-funded childcare facilities in the state of Minnesota.
During the visit, David spoke with reporters, revealing he had filed a criminal complaint against Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz related to charges of widespread fraud. In a post published on X, Shirley and David can be seen standing outside of the facility rocking their sweatshirts. The post was captioned, “WE OUT HERE LEARIN AND STOPPING FRAUD.”
The shirts also featured the slogan, “Quality ‘Learing’ Center,” purposefully misspelled to poke fun of the sign that is associated with the site at the center of the fraud allegations. Shirley decided to make a return visit to the center after its manager claimed the original video misrepresented the business by filming outside its posted hours of operation, suggesting the center wasn’t active.
According to Fox News, state officials, along with a daycare manager have denied the allegations, disputing claims that the location was closed or was a front for collecting taxpayer dollars. At the time of filming the original video, it appeared the Quality Learning Center was inactive, meaning there were no students or children present — think out of business — while still receiving childcare funds from the state.
Gov. Tim Walz is already under the microscope for the scandal, which involves a billion dollars in lost funds to alleged social services fraud that is deeply connected to the Somali community in Minneapolis. During the most recent visit, David confirmed for the press that he had filed a criminal complaint against the governor related to the fraud allegations.
“I filed a formal criminal complaint against Tim Walz for violating Minnesota Statute 3.971, Subdivision 9,” David went on to say before confirming he had filed the complaint almost a month ago. “So there’s an investigation ongoing, and I think Tim’s going to have a bad day, and he deserves it, because he allowed this fraud.”
“Because he wanted the voting bloc that the Somalis represent, because they all vote in a block, and it’s 100,000 150,000,” he continued. “Who knows how many, but it’s so bad now that when we go to a facility, they’re already screaming, Nick Shirley, Nick Shirley, Nick Shirley!” Fox News attempted to reach out to Gov. Walz’s office for a comment on the matter, but as of this writing, hasn’t received a response.
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Department of Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown stated that all of the daycare centers featured in Shirley’s video had received unannounced visits over the last six months. Brown added that there were children present during the visits, going on to reveal they had also been previously investigated. She said that the state had found no evidence of fraud. Brown also raised questions concerning when Shirley stopped by the centers, wondering if he purposefully appeared outside normal operating hours or on the weekend.
Watch here: