Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is finally attempting to defend fraud allegations sparked by a viral video showing a childcare center sitting largely empty despite pocketing millions in state funds.

A spokesperson for Mr. Walz’s office said the governor has spent years working to “crack down on fraud” and has strengthened oversight of state programs, launching investigations into multiple facilities. The statement came in response to questions about a video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley.

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

The response comes after Mr. Shirley posted a 42-minute-long video in which he visited several childcare centers in Minnesota that are owned by members of the Somali community. In some cases, he reported that there were no children in the facilities that were receiving state funds.

One facility, Quality Learning Center, displayed a sign with its own name misspelled as “Quality Learing Center.” The facility is licensed for 99 children and received roughly $4 million in state funds, according to Mr. Shirley. But when he arrived, the door was locked and the windows were blacked out.

The video went viral, drawing scrutiny from state and federal officials.

“MN House Democrats tried everything to prevent House Republicans from establishing the Fraud Prevention and Agency Oversight Committee,” The Minnesota House speaker, Lisa Demuth, posted on X, “House Republicans prevailed and established the committee. The theft of tax dollars in MN is finally gaining national attention. Democrats will be held responsible.”

“4 million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to and an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly,” Congressman Tom Emmer wrote on X.

Mr. Emmer also shared a post from Mr. Walz — which featured a cat and the caption “Happy Caturday” — and wrote, “Your mismanagement of state funds has just been exposed to tens of millions of Americans and you’re posting about ‘Caturday.’ You should be ashamed.”

The video surfaced weeks after federal prosecutors charged multiple individuals in Minnesota with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The House Oversight Committee is now probing allegations of widespread fraud in the state’s social service programs.

As state officials face questions about fund management, mainstream media outlets have drawn criticism for appearing uninterested in the multimillion-dollar fraud allegations.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has deployed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of an ongoing effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”

The rapid response account for the White House also reacted to the video, accusing the state’s “Fake News cartel” of conspiring with “Dems to bully, slander, and silence” journalists who tried to bring attention to allegations of fraud.

“Walz has always had cover. Until now. And it’s only beginning,” the post said. 

Mr. Walz’s spokesperson told Fox News that his office has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”