Somali Scammers Allegedly Stole Almost as Much in Minnesota as Entire Somalia GDP
by Harold Hutchison Harold Hutchison is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The amount of fraudulent billing in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs could be as high as $9 billion, Assistant United States Attorney Joe Thompson said Dec. 18.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the agency was already sending additional resources in an X post Sunday, saying the deployment occurred before a 42-minute video of independent journalist Nick Shirley visiting various day care centers went viral Friday.
Thompson described the situation as involving “industrial-scale fraud,” according to CBS News Minnesota.
“When I say significant amount, I’m talking on the order of half or more, but we’ll see,” Thompson said. “When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers.”
Somalia’s GDP was $11.97 billion in 2024, according to a release from the country’s Bureau of National Statistics. Whistleblowers in Maine and Ohio have alleged similar schemes by Somali scammers have taken place in those states.
Previously, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surged into the Minneapolis area to target illegal immigrants from Somalia after reports of at least $1 billion in fraud. Allegations that some of the stolen funds went to the radical Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab prompted a probe by the Treasury Department.
In his 42-minute viral video posted Friday to X, Shirley attempted to visit multiple day care centers run by Somalis that had reportedly received state funds, in many cases not finding children.
full story at https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/12/29/minnesota-fraud-almost-entire-somalia-gdp/