A retired Homeland Security Investigations agent recalled looking into fraud at Minnesota day care centers 10 years ago — but said the probe inexplicably “went into thin air” and nothing ever came of it.
Jeremy Christenson, who worked with HSI for 16 years, said he was part of a months-long fraud investigation in 2015 into day care centers that seemed completely empty, with a task force of 20 law enforcement agents and the state Department of Human Services.
They were probing Somali migrants who “were setting up sham day cares, [with] fake bills, fake students, or just enrolling students that never came. It was just all fake daycares. That’s the easiest way to explain it,” Christenson told Minnesota’s Alpha News.
Former Homeland Security investigator Jeremy Christenson discusses the rampant fraud case in Minneapolis. @AlphaNews/X“Never, not one of the day cares I served warrants on, not one person was ever present. Just empty buildings, stacks of invoices and student records of people that our surveillance showed never went there,” he explained.
But ultimately, he said, the task force inexplicably “just kind of went away.”
“All of a sudden it just evaporated, just went away into thin air. No idea whatever happened with the case,” he said.
Independent reporter Nick Shirley uncovered a number of empty day care centers in Minneapolis. X / Nick Shirley
Adults and children are seen arriving at the Quality Learning Center in Minneapolis. LP Media for NY PostThe retired agent’s shocking comments come amid a new massive fraud scandal in the North Star State in which the Somali immigrant community has been accused of bilking millions of dollars in state aid meant for day care centers.
An investigation into the allegations has intensified after this weekend’s viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley showed multiple child care centers in Minnesota that had received millions in state funding appearing completely inactive.
Here’s the latest on the Minnesota fraud scheme:
- DOJ surging prosecutors to Minnesota to bring fraudsters to justice – Bondi vows ‘severe consequences’ for those convicted
- Somali ambassador to UN is linked to shady health care company in Medicaid fraud scandal: HHS official
- Tim Walz abruptly drops out of Minnesota governor’s race in wake of billion-dollar fraud scandal
- Somali fraudsters got luxury digs, beachside resort, rented Rolls Royce and Lamborghini with stolen funds
One day care with a misspelled sign that got $4 million in taxpayer money had its doors shuttered despite advertising it was open.
In the wake of the video, FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has deployed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota as part of its ongoing efforts to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
A misspelled sign at one of the day care centers in the middle of the alleged fraud scheme. X / Nick Shirley“The FBI believes this is 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 posted on X Sunday.
“Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigration officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.”
