FBI chief threatens deportations over alleged $110mn fraud scheme

FBI Director Kash Patel has warned that fraudsters in Minnesota could face deportation after a YouTuber exposed an alleged multimillion-dollar scam in the state, fueling a broader scandal over large-scale social services fraud linked to the local Somali community.

Independent reporter Nick Shirley last week posted a video showing him visiting several Minnesota childcare and healthcare centers allegedly run by locals of Somali background that appeared to be non-operational fronts. He later estimated that the sites had collectively received more than $110 million in state funds. The footage went viral over the weekend, prompting lawmakers and high-profile figures to condemn the state authorities and Governor Tim Walz for inaction.

In a post on X on Sunday, Patel said the FBI was “aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota” and stressed that the agency had already “surged personnel and investigative resources” to the state to dismantle large-scale fraud targeting federal programs, even before the video gained traction.

He pointed to the Feeding Our Future case, in which investigators uncovered a $250 million scheme in Minnesota that siphoned federal food-aid funds meant for low-income children during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The probe exposed widespread money laundering rooted in the state’s Somali community – its largest immigrant group – and led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions so far. The case was later followed by reports of additional schemes targeting Minnesota’s safety-net programs, with claimed losses running into the billions. Some reports say the funds were routed overseas through informal networks, with some potentially ending up with al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based, al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.

Patel said the fraud suspects are now being referred to immigration authorities for possible denaturalization and deportation. He admitted that the FBI considers the Feeding Our Future case “just the tip of a very large iceberg.”

“We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing,” he wrote. Earlier this month, unverified videos circulated online purporting to show FBI raids on allegedly fraudulent Somali-run healthcare businesses in the state.

Walz earlier pledged to jail fraudsters and roll out a statewide scam prevention program using forensic auditors. President Donald Trump, however, accused the governor of incompetence, branding Minnesota under his leadership “a hub of fraudulent money laundering” taken over by “gangs” of Somali refugees.