Three Daycares Sue Minnesota Claiming Selective Investigations Based on Sensational Video

Three daycare centers accused of fraud by an independent reporter are suing the state of Minnesota, claiming that it unfairly investigated them based on what the plaintiff’s lawyer calls shoddy and selective work by an “internet troll.” Hopkins Child Care Center LLC, Cloud Academy LLC and St. Cloud Childcare Inc., were among a dozen daycares approached by YouTube sensation Nick Shirley, who alleged in December that the facilities run by Somali immigrants were fraudulently receiving millions in federal funding through the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families’ Child Care Assistance Program.Mr. Shirley’s report helped spur Operation Metro Surge, in which thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on Minneapolis to arrest suspected illegal immigrants.The lawyer representing the three facilities, Jason Steck, says Mr. Shirley’s videos not only reeked of intimidation and racism, but also created enormous pressure on the state to prove to the federal government that it was investigating and enforcing fraud claims. As a result, the state is scapegoating the facilities brought to the public’s attention by Mr. Shirley’s video.“This is a 23-year-old internet troll who’s going around without the slightest idea of what he’s talking about accusing people of fraud based on their race,” Mr. Steck told The New York Sun. “Nothing about him can be a credible allegation of anything and any government agency that uses it in any way, that relies on it, is not acting properly.”In January, the U.S. Administration for Children and Families blocked $10 billion in funding for families in five states, including Minnesota, citing fraud and mismanagement. Earlier this month, a federal judge reinstated the federal payments for the Child Care Assistance Programs while the case plays out in the court.Mr. Steck said that the state, in an attempt to appear proactive, has put the child care centers into a Catch-22 situation. He said the state has placed them in a temporary investigatory status that they can’t appeal while also using language that suggests the investigation has concluded and they were found in violation. “They need to be seen doing something about it. So here we are, we’re gonna throw these people under the bus by issuing payment withholds on them and hope that that mollifies the feds,” Mr. Steck said. He added that non-Somali daycares are still receiving federal funding, “but there’s no indication that any of those daycares got investigated after the Shirley video.”“That’s called selective discriminatory enforcement,” Mr. Steck said. He is seeking reinstatement of the facilities’ eligible provider status as well as damages for uneven enforcement of First Amendment, due process, and civil rights claims. Mr. Shirley’s report led to a statewide investigation into fraud at daycare centers. Late last month, Minnesota’s Office of Inspector General issued notice that the state will be conducting on-site checks with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. “When visits occur, they generally focus on record keeping, staffing and meeting health and safety requirements,” the department said in a statement. “The presence of BCA agents does not indicate a criminal investigation.”The Department of Children, Youth, and Families also responded to Mr. Steck’s lawsuit by saying it has video surveillance from 2023 proving that the facilities are overbilling based on the number of students recorded attending the centers.Mt. Steck told the Sun that any such video would change the merits of the suspension, but not the fact that only Somali centers are being investigated. He also questioned why the state waited until now to cite a 2023 video.An email request for comment has been sent to the department by the Sun.Mr. Shirley’s report came on the heels of a second investigation by the state’s Department of Human Services, underway since September 2022, of organizations that received millions in funding to feed children and families during the COVID pandemic. On Thursday, authorities unsealed a criminal complaint against an owner of a daycare, Future Leaders Early Learning Center. Fahima Egeh Mahamud was arrested on February 12 while on her way to London, two days after shutting down her daycare center.Ms Mahamud, the 79th person charged in the Feeding Our Future investigation, claimed to have served 60,000 meals per month at the height of the pandemic. She now faces a single charge of wire fraud in the U.S. District Court.

Three Daycares Sue Minnesota Claiming Selective Investigations Based on Sensational Video

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