DHS, FBI Surge Agents to Minnesota in Wake Of Massive Fraud Reports
A recent increase in the number of federal law enforcement officers operating in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents, according to officials familiar with the investigations.
President Donald Trump has previously connected his administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota to a series of fraud cases tied to government assistance programs, many of which have involved defendants with roots in Somalia, ABC7 reports.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel announced this week that federal operations in Minnesota would be expanded.
The announcements followed the release of a video Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley, who alleged that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud.
Tikki Brown, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, said at a news conference Monday that state regulators were taking the allegations seriously, ABC7 said.
Noem posted on social media that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.” Patel said the goal was to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
Minnesota has faced heightened scrutiny for years over Medicaid fraud, including the roughly $300 million pandemic-era case involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors have described it as the largest COVID-19–related fraud scheme in the United States, alleging that defendants exploited a state-administered, federally funded program intended to provide meals for children.
The investigation began during the administration of Joe Biden. In 2022, federal prosecutors charged 47 individuals, a figure that has since grown to 78 as the case has expanded.
To date, 57 defendants have been convicted, either through guilty pleas or trial verdicts. Court records show that most of those charged are of Somali descent, noted ABC7.
Authorities say several additional fraud investigations remain ongoing, including new allegations centered on child care centers.
In interviews and press releases over the summer, federal prosecutor Joe Thompson estimated that total losses across multiple fraud cases in Minnesota could exceed $1 billion. Earlier this month, another federal prosecutor alleged that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funding provided to 14 programs in the state since 2018 may have been misappropriated.
Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota have largely focused on the Somali community in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, which is the largest such community in the United States. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota, 85 of the 98 defendants charged in cases involving alleged fraud tied to child nutrition, housing assistance, and autism programs are Somali Americans.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made the arrest announcement on Monday. Bondi said additional prosecutions are expected as the investigations continue.
Her announcement followed the release of a series of videos by Shirley. “[Nick Shirley’s] work has helped show Americans the scale of fraud in Tim Walz’s Minnesota,” Bondi said in an X statement late Monday.
“@TheJusticeDepartment has been investigating this for months. So far, we have charged 98 individuals — 85 of Somali descent — and more than 60 have been found guilty in court,” she continued. “We have more prosecutions coming… BUCKLE UP, LAWMAKERS!”
Bondi went on to describe several of the cases they’d already prosecuted, including the Feeding Our Future scheme and a connected juror bribery case — a situation which, as Bondi noted, was “not unlike what you would see in the corrupt Somali judicial system.”
In September, a media release from the Department of Justice alleged that 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan received nearly $500,000 for her involvement in a $14 million autism fraud case.
“From November 2019 through December 2024, Asha Hassan and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the EIDBI autism services program. Hassan formed and registered Smart Therapy LLC with the Minnesota Secretary of State in November 2019. Hassan listed herself as the sole owner of Smart Therapy,” said the release.
“Shortly after forming the company, Hassan enrolled Smart Therapy as a provider agency in the EIDBI program. …Hassan also enrolled Smart Therapy in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future,” it added.
Ghislaine Maxwell claims 25 Jeffrey Epstein accomplices reached ‘secret settlements’ after abuse allegations: court papers
A group of 25 alleged accomplices of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein made “secret settlements” with accusers — while four alleged co-conspirators were never charged, Epstein’s convicted madam Ghislaine Maxwell revealed in court papers.
“New Evidence reveals that there were 25 men with which the plaintiff lawyers reached secret settlements – that could equally be considered as co-conspirators,” Maxwell wrote in December in the papers, filed without her lawyers, seeking to overturn her conviction.
The filing also claims that four of the notorious financier’s employees were mentioned in a non-prosecution agreement and in the sex-trafficking indictment Epstein faced before he killed himself in jail — but they were never charged
A group of 25 alleged accomplices of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein made “secret settlements” tied to abuse allegations, Epstein’s convicted madam Ghislaine Maxwell revealed in court papers.US District Court for the Southe
“None of these men have been prosecuted and none has been revealed to [Maxwell]; she would have called them as witnesses had she known,” Maxwell wrote.
The 63-year-old disgraced British socialite claimed this newly discovered evidence — coupled with the fact she allegedly had a biased jury — meant she didn’t get a fair trial.
“If the jury had heard of the new evidence of the collusion between the plaintiff’s lawyers and the government to conceal evidence and the prosecutorial misconduct, they would not have convicted,” she wrote.
The fact that there could still be unmasked accomplices of the prolific sex criminal raises questions about if and when those names will be revealed, given the legislature’s passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November.
It is unclear whether the 25 men who reached “secret settlements” with plaintiff lawyers also reached deals with the feds, shielding them from prosecution.
However, to date, only Maxwell and Epstein have been charged in connection with Epstein’s depraved sex-trafficking network.
Others tied to Epstein have been sued for alleged sexual misconduct, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly known as Prince Andrew, Duke of York — who was accused by Virginia Giuffre of having sex with her when she was a minor. Andrew has denied those allegations.
The Department of Justice has said it has roped in some 400 of its lawyers, who are “working around the clock” to review records totaling as many as 5.2 million pages.
The feds must redact certain information, like victim names.
“It truly is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we’re asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch said in December. “Required redactions to protect victims take time but they will not stop these materials from being released.”
At family dinner, my sister announced, "Mom and dad said, 'You never contribute anything to this family.'" Everyone clapped.
At family dinner, my sister announced, "Mom and dad said, 'You never contribute anything to this family.'" Everyone clapped.
THE CARTER HOUSE BETRAYAL
# THE CARTER HOUSE BETRAYAL
"WASH THE DISHES, NAOMI.
"WASH THE DISHES, NAOMI.
I Spent 14 Months Mourning My De@d Wife—Then My Daughter Screamed Five Words From the Poolside That Shattered My Entire Life
I Spent 14 Months Mourning My De@d Wife—Then My Daughter Screamed Five Words From the Poolside That Shattered My Entire Life
13 Hours Before "I Do," I Overheard My Inner Circle Plotting My Total Destruction Through the Hotel Wall—And They Have No Idea I'm Listening
13 Hours Before "I Do," I Overheard My Inner Circle Plotting My Total Destruction Through the Hotel Wall—And They Have No Idea I'm Listening
Thirteen hours before I was scheduled to walk down the aisle and say the words "I do," I found myself standing in the stillness of my luxury hotel suite, my fingers gently brushing against the pristine, crystal-embellished white wedding dress laid out across the bed. Everything seemed pristine and perfect on the surface, but a chilling sound pierced through the heavy wooden wall partition of the bedroom, shattering the quiet illusion. 😨
I froze, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Through the thin architectural barrier, muffled voices whispered words that turned my blood to ice. It was my own assistant and closest confidantes discussing a malicious scheme. "Through wall, we'll pour wine on her dress and hide the wedding rings," a voice sneered with venomous delight. Another chimed in with a toxic bitterness that made my stomach churn: "I've been trying to steal her groom for months!"
A wave of searing rage and absolute betrayal washed over me, replacing the innocent excitement of a bride-to-be with dark, calculated focus. My jaw tightened, and I clenched my right fist so hard my nails dug into my palms. I crept swiftly across the plush carpet toward the bedroom wall, pressing my ear and my smartphone directly against the wood to capture every damning detail of their plot. On my screen, the stopwatch timer ticked away the seconds of their betrayal. "She'll never know until it's too late," they whispered, laughing softly on the other side. 😤
I pulled back, my eyes flashing with a cold, terrifying clarity. There would be no tears, only strategy. I rushed over to the sleek glass desk, my fingers flying across my phone screen as a notification popped up: Second suite confirmed — Access code sent. I quickly tapped out a message to my cousin: 40 minutes, cousin. Prepare everything quietly. Nobody must know. A tight, dangerous line formed across my lips as I locked my phone and pressed it to my ear for a covert phone call.
"Tomorrow I need to change a few things. Please don't react yet," I whispered into the receiver with icy precision. On the other end, a familiar, smooth voice answered instantly without hesitation: "Whatever you need, baby, I'm with you". A slow, dangerous smile crept onto my face—a smile that held zero warmth and absolute resolve. I walked back over to the bed, gently placing my phone right beside the wedding gown. Tomorrow, everyone will hear the truth. 🔥
I turned on my heel, walking away from the bed with measured, unyielding steps as muffled, celebratory laughter echoed from the adjacent suite where my supposed friends toasted to my downfall. I locked my gaze straight ahead, my expression hardening into an unreadable, lethal mask as the final confrontation loomed on the horizon.
What happens next? 👇 Drop a comment
***PART 2***
The hours melted away under the crushing weight of a silent countdown, the air in my suite thick with the scent of white tea and suppressed fury. Outside my door, the muffled, champagne-soaked laughter of my so-called best friend Maya and her co-conspirators drifted through the drywall like a persistent poison. They thought they were staging the ultimate coup, plotting my humiliation just hours before I walked down the aisle. But every second they spent gloating was another nail in their own coffins, meticulously arranged by my cousin and backed by digital proof they never knew existed. My heart hammered a steady, rhythmically lethal beat against my ribs, daring them to make their move.
At precisely five minutes past midnight, the discreet click of the adjoining service door broke the heavy silence. I didn't flinch as Maya’s shadow stretched across the carpet, her silhouette sharp against the moonlight filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She moved with the silent, predatory grace of someone who believed she had already won, her hand clutching a heavy crystal decanter of deep red wine meant for my wedding gown. The metallic tang of malice hung so heavily in the room that it tasted like copper on my tongue. She stepped closer to the bed, a cruel, triumphant smirk twisting her painted lips as she raised the heavy bottle high above her head.
"Let's see how pristine you look walking down the aisle in a puddle of burgundy, bitch," she whispered to the empty air, her voice dripping with venomous satisfaction. Before the glass could even begin its descent toward the delicate lace, I stepped out from the dim alcove near the wardrobe, my voice cutting through the quiet like a razor blade. "Try it, Maya, and let's see how well orange jumpsuit chic matches your complexion." She froze, the decanter trembling violently in her grip as the blood drained entirely from her face, leaving her looking like a ghost caught in broad daylight. The sheer terror in her wide, unblinking eyes was the sweetest preview of the devastation about to unfold.
Before she could recover her voice, the heavy double doors of my suite flew open with a deafening bang, revealing not just hotel security, but federal digital investigators and my fiancé, Julian, his face carved from absolute thunder. "Drop the bottle, Maya," Julian’s voice cracked like a whip through the room, vibrating with a cold, terrifying fury that made every single one of her co-conspirators stumble backward in sheer panic. Maya dropped the decanter, shattering it against the reinforced floor, her voice cracking into hysterical stutters as she pointed a shaking finger at me. "She set us up! It’s a trap, Julian, she’s crazy!" But her desperate lies evaporated instantly into the sterile air as my cousin stepped forward, plugging a sleek master drive into the suite’s entertainment hub, instantly broadcasting every single recorded word of their vile conspiracy onto the massive wall-mounted screen for everyone to witness.
The ensuing confrontation was a masterclass in absolute ruin, a chaotic storm of screeching denials, weeping pleas, and shattered alibis that crumbled under the weight of irrefutable evidence. Maya lunged forward in a desperate, feral attempt to rip the console cords out of the wall, but security officers intercepted her mid-air, pinning her arms behind her back with cold, professional efficiency as she shrieked obscenities that echoed down the hotel hallway. Her accomplices slumped against the walls, broken and defeated, realizing too late that the woman they tried to destroy was three steps ahead of them the entire time. Handcuffs clicked in rapid succession, a metallic symphony of justice that washed away every lingering shadow of doubt in my mind. As the guards hauled them away in weeping disgrace, the suffocating pressure in my chest finally dissipated, replaced by a profound, breathtaking lightness.
The heavy double doors clicked shut once more, sealing out the chaos and leaving behind an absolute, peaceful silence. Julian crossed the room in two long strides, dropping to his knees before me with tears shimmering in his eyes, his hands trembling as he reached out to cup my face. "I am so endlessly sorry you had to carry the weight of their poison alone," he whispered, his voice thick with a raw, fierce devotion that completely disarmed every defensive wall I had ever built. The scent of fresh white roses filled the space between us as he pulled me into an embrace so steady and secure that every fragment of my past hurt dissolved into nothingness. We didn't just survive their treachery; we used their malice to burn away the fake connections and forge an unbreakable sanctuary built entirely on truth.
Twelve hours later, the morning sun broke over the horizon in a blaze of golden light, illuminating the pristine, crystal-embellished gown hanging untouched and flawless against the dressing room door. As I stepped out onto the flower-strewn terrace on Julian’s arm, wrapped in a love so fierce and absolute that no amount of envy could ever penetrate it, I realized that true strength isn't about avoiding betrayal—it's about standing tall in the ashes of what tried to break you and blooming into your greatest victory.
