Independent journalist Nick Shirley accused New York’s welfare system of functioning as a “money-laundering scheme” after discovering that operators of adult daycare centers under scrutiny for massive Medicaid billing donated to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. Shirley pointed to $55,000 in campaign contributions connected to social adult daycare centers in Flushing, Queens. The same facilities and their operators have received millions of dollars through Medicaid-funded programs, though none of the businesses discussed has been charged with a crime.
Shirley raised the allegations in a video posted to X after previously visiting adult daycare facilities that appeared nearly empty despite reporting hundreds of beneficiaries and receiving millions in taxpayer-funded payments. He argued that the campaign contributions could help explain why state and local Democratic officials reacted angrily or remained silent when he questioned the facilities’ billing. Shirley specifically named Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani while recounting his earlier investigation.
“This might be a bit shocking. Remember when I went and exposed the adult daycare scam inside of New York City?” Shirley began. “These adult daycares were billing for an impossible amount of patients inside of Flushing, Queens, for adult daycares.” He pointed to one operator whose businesses, he said, had received approximately $44 million in taxpayer funds.
“I exposed it plain and simple, and Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani absolutely went completely silent,” Shirley said. His latest claims followed a New York Post investigation into campaign contributions associated with Flushing’s adult daycare industry. The Post reported that Hochul received $55,000 from adult daycare operators during her 2022 campaign and that nearly half of the money could be connected to businessmen Baoli Zhang and Jiemin Shang.
Shirley focused on Livingwell Day Care, which is operated by Shang. “Living Well received $8.6 million in 2025, and on their peak day of business, they billed the state for 406 beneficiaries,” he said. Campaign records reviewed by the Post showed that Livingwell donated $5,000 to Hochul’s campaign in 2022, the same year the facility reportedly billed Medicaid for $5.8 million.
Another $5,000 contribution came from Finest Adult Day Care, which Shang also operates, according to the report. Zhang personally donated $10,000 to Hochul, while another $5,000 came through his Bao Kang Adult Day Care business. The Post reported that Zhang’s businesses have claimed at least $32 million from Medicaid since 2018, although Zhang, Shang, and the centers identified in the report have not been charged with criminal wrongdoing.
Watch Shirley’s allegations here:
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“Well, Kathy Hochul received over $55,000 from these adult daycares in New York City,” Shirley continued. “Yes, this guy right here has been actively donating to Kathy Hochul.” He argued that the flow of money from government programs to providers, followed by political contributions from people associated with those providers, creates incentives for elected officials to buck outside scrutiny.
“So the reason why these politicians get so mad at me when I expose the fraud is because I’m exposing the very dollars that benefit them and their political agendas inside of their own state,” Shirley claimed. The governor’s office has denied that campaign contributions influence state policy.
Shirley broadened his argument beyond the scope of individual daycare operators, saying that expansive benefit programs allow politicians to garner loyal voting blocs. “These politicians have learned that fraud is the best way to gain control of a large group of a population,” he said. “Because why would a group in a community cut off the hand that feeds them? And more specifically, why would any community ever vote against somebody who is giving them money no matter what?”
“We have so much money here inside the United States that we are able to hand out millions upon millions of dollars, and no one will even notice,” Shirley concluded. “And now that somebody’s looking, and these politicians are being exposed, they’re all freaking out, and Kathy Hochul is one of them.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.