A 23-year-old independent YouTube journalist’s video exposing examples of what he calls “potentially the largest fraud scandal in U.S. history” in Minnesota has racked up more than 90 million views in just two days on X and YouTube, accelerating a cascading narrative around abuse of social services centered mostly on the state’s Somali population.
In the 42-minute video, Nick Shirley, wearing a grey hoodie and working with a fellow independent investigator he identifies only as “David,” visits a series of social-service oriented businesses in and around the Twin Cities to confront “the people who are making millions of dollars” from social services including meal programs, housing assistance and health services – though the biggest piece seems to be childcare centers, where Shirley shows up during weekday business hours to find no children present.
David says his personal inquiry, which has included his own research and sources at the statehouse in St. Paul, has uncovered more than 1,000 fraudulent service-oriented businesses, more than 800 of which are Somali-owned. He says he began investigating when he noticed childless day-care centers and drivers for a “non-emergency medical transportation” service based near his office that never carried any passengers.
In the video, Shirley says the schemes’ now-estimated $9 billion in purported pilfered public funds is “so much fraud it could almost replace the entire GDP of Somalia,” which is estimated at $12 billion.
“Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet,” Shirley wrote in the viral X post. “We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable. We ALL work way too hard and pay too much in taxes for this to be happening, the fraud must be stopped.”
Minnesota’s unfolding fraud scandal has implicated dozens of businesses and individuals who are accused of enriching themselves via submitting fraudulent claims funded by both state and federal taxpayer dollars. Charges for at least five new alleged fraudsters were announced earlier this month by Joe Thompson, first assistant U.S. District Attorney for the state of Minnesota, including allegedly fraudulent Medicaid claims involving a “housing stabilization services program.”
Thompson characterized the schemes, each of which have allegedly collected millions, as a “fraud tourism” scheme that is under investigation by state and federal agencies including the FBI, Homeland Security and the Justice Department. He said more charges will be announced in the future.
Prosecutors have publicly stated that Minnesota may have lost up to $9 billion in misappropriated aid — a figure that has drawn national scrutiny as the investigation continues.
Shirley started posting regularly to his YouTube channel in 2019, and has built a large online following by posting videos that combine on-the-ground interviews, commentary, and investigative style reporting, especially on political and social topics. His content often involves interviewing people in public spaces, exploring controversial issues and presenting bold narratives about social unrest, immigration, protests, and alleged fraud.
His significant following leans toward conservative digital circles – his posts are amplified by political figures like Elon Musk and JD Vance – and has attracted criticism over his methods and perceived bias.
Shirley posted a YouTube video of himself meeting with Donald Trump at the White House in October, wherein he tells the president that he’s found evidence that antifa-style protests are stocked with the same people who are “bussed” to various cities to stage the demonstrations.
