The FBI has deployed personnel and resources to Minnesota to "dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs," FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday.
Patel's comments come after a video from independent journalist Nick Shirley that documented visits to multiple day care centers in Minnesota went viral on X, garnering more than 100 million views. One center visited by Shirley reportedly received millions of dollars in state funding but appears to be inactive.
Responding to the allegations and the video posted by Shirley, a spokesperson for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, told Fox News the governor has spent years working to "crack down on fraud" and strengthen oversight of state programs, including launching investigations into the facilities.
Newsweek contacted Walz's office via an email sent outside regular business hours for comment.
Prosecutors have said fraud schemes targeting Minnesota-run programs could have led to billions of dollars in losses.
The case has become politically and culturally fraught, as many but not all of the defendants charged so far are Somali Americans. President Donald Trump has seized on that to target the Somali community in Minnesota, the largest in the country, and repeatedly said the state is a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" under Walz. But Somali Americans have warned against stigmatizing the entire community based on the alleged crimes by a group of defendants.
Walz, who is seeking a third term, has faced significant criticism, particularly from Trump and Republicans, for the fraud that occurred under his leadership.
In a post on X, Patel said the FBI had increased personnel in Minnesota "even before the public conversation escalated online."
He said the FBI successfully dismantled a $250-million fraud scheme involving stolen federal food aid meant for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That case led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions, he said.
Patel said the FBI believes "this is just the tip of a very large iceberg." He added that many who were involved in the scheme are being "referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible."
Meanwhile, other Trump administration officials have criticized Walz after Shirley's video went viral.
A spokesperson for Governor Tim Walz told Fox News: "The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight -- including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed."
The spokesperson added that Walz has "hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions."
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X: "What's happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigriation [sic] fraud in our system. Politicans [sic] like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich. But it's a zero sum game, and they're stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote on X, alongside a clip from journalist Nick Shirley: "One fraudulent business in Minnesota that misspelled 'learning' on its building received $1.9M this year while masquerading as a day care. There are not enough words to describe the breathtaking failure that has happened under the watch of @GovTimWalz."
Patel said the FBI will continue to investigate fraud in Minnesota.
"We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing," he said.