Shocking unearthed video from a 2018 state fraud case shows Minnesota parents dropping their children off at a day care center and then leaving with the kids moments later — as authorities probe a rampant billion-dollar fraud scheme in Minneapolis.
In the surveillance footage, dated 2015 and obtained by Fox 9, parents are seen signing their kids into the facility so providers could bill the state for full days of care for children who didn’t actually attend.
On some days, no families would even show up at all, but the day cares would still claim reimbursements from the government, the outlet reported at the time.
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The alleged phony day care centers also gave kickbacks to parents involved.
Another video obtained by Fox 9 shows a man handing an envelope to a parent with an alleged kickback payment for participating in the scheme.
The clips — which were recorded in 2015 but only came to light in 2018 — resurfaced amid outrage sparked by a viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley that showed multiple childcare centers in Minnesota that had received millions in state funding despite appearing inactive.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the alleged fraud a “breathtaking failure.”
Minnesota authorities began cracking down on the schemes in 2014, and by 2018 authorities were looking into dozens of businesses suspected of bilking millions of dollars in government funds for the bogus childcare services.
Additionally, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has come under fire for other alleged scams involving Medicaid-funded disability schemes, including a housing program that helps seniors and disabled people find and move into housing.
The scams have been largely tied to Minnesota’s migrant Somali community.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has deployed personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of an ongoing effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
Patel said childcare allegations were “just the tip of a very large iceberg” and he threatened convicted Somali scammers with deportation.
