Nick Shirley released a follow-up investigative video alleging widespread welfare and childcare fraud in Minnesota, accusing state leaders of turning a blind eye, documenting empty daycare sites, and detailing claims of transportation and welfare scheme abuse; the piece includes on-the-street encounters, a 51-minute exposé embedded here, and direct quotes from Shirley describing federal freezes and investigations sparked by his reporting.
Investigative reporter Nick Shirley first went viral after posting a video in late December that claimed to reveal large-scale fraud tied to Minnesota childcare funding. He walked through multiple locations billed as daycares and said many showed no children, no activity, and signs that government dollars were being funneled into shell operations. That initial exposé, Shirley and his supporters argue, prompted federal attention and an aggressive response from officials.
Shirley returned with a second, longer video released on a Wednesday, where he teams up with a local identified as David to follow another trail of alleged abuse. They focus on what they call transportation fraud, describing companies registered as non-medical emergency transport providers that receive substantial public funds for services they do not appear to deliver. The new clip, Shirley says, documents an additional $16 million in fraud on top of what he previously exposed.
Here is the embedded new video Shirley posted:
After my last video exposing over $110 Million in fraud Tim Walz dropped his run for reelection and multiple federal investigations were launched to stop fraud across the country. In this 51 minute video David and I expose another $16 Million in fraud as Minnesota welfare programs continue to operate fraudulently and steal from law-abiding taxpayers
Like it and share it around everywhere! Accountability and the law must come for the fraudsters and corrupt politicians who have let this happen.
The fraud must end.
Shirley recounts how his first report led to federal agents arriving in Minnesota and a freeze on substantial childcare payments while investigations moved forward. He quotes the results directly, saying the HHS froze over $185 million in payments after his initial coverage. Those numbers are central to his claim that investigative reporting produced measurable government action.
In the follow-up footage, Shirley and David visit multiple business addresses tied to transportation contracts and welfare services, asserting that listed operators either do not exist or operate as fronts. David alleges there are over 1,000 registered transportation companies and that more than 90 percent are Somali-owned, a detail presented as part of the pattern they are documenting. They say those registrations create a billing pipeline that drains taxpayer funds while services remain undelivered or exaggerated.
Watch what happens when they visit a couple of sites:
The team records tense interactions during field reporting, with Shirley regularly challenged and accused of bigotry as he questions handlers and on-site staff. He and his crew also report being followed and verbally threatened, events captured on camera to show the risks of reporting on sensitive local networks. The footage includes moments the author notes as escalating from verbal challenges to outright intimidation.
One of the embedded clips shows more confrontational moments the crew faced while asking questions about operations and payments. That footage is intended to demonstrate resistance to accountability and to underline the risks to journalists tackling corruption narratives in public programs. The confrontations also provide context for the pushback Shirley received after his earlier video went viral.
Shirley and his team press local addresses and corporate records, pointing to discrepancies between claimed enrollment numbers and visible activity at facilities receiving federal funds. He frames this work as simple investigative legwork: follow the money, inspect the premises, and record what you find. For supporters, the takeaway is that systemic loopholes in welfare and childcare programs are being exploited and that oversight has been insufficient.
During on-the-street reporting, Shirley described additional patterns he believes are fraud-related, including companies billing for transport services that never took place and registrations that mask real operators. He emphasizes that these practices amount to stealing from law-abiding taxpayers and calls for more aggressive law enforcement action. The new video aims to expand the dossier of alleged bad actors and show how widespread the problem might be.
Shirley also details the personal fallout he experienced after going public, saying some officials dismissed him with derogatory labels instead of addressing the allegations. He quotes critics who labeled him “white supremacists” and “far right delusional conspiracy theorists,” and presents those attacks as attempts to discredit the investigation rather than engage with its findings. For Shirley and his audience, name-calling has not stopped the momentum of federal probes and local scrutiny.
Embedded further raw footage of harassment and on-site encounters follows here:
The reporting is framed as part of a broader push to hold institutions and elected leaders accountable for how taxpayer funds are monitored and distributed. Shirley insists that exposing these alleged abuses matters because it forces audits, freezes improper payments, and triggers criminal inquiries where warranted. The new material seeks to deepen the record and keep public pressure on officials overseeing welfare and childcare spending.
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