Beyond Daycare: How Somali Fraud Spread Across Housing and Autism Programs

A viral video by Nick Shirley recently renewed attention on alleged daycare and social service fraud in Minnesota, prompting broader scrutiny of multiple public benefit programs. Subsequent investigations by federal and state authorities have uncovered what prosecutors describe as widespread fraud involving nutrition assistance, housing support, and autism services, with a significant number of cases tied to individuals within Minnesota’s Somali American community.

Attorney General Pam Bondi reported that 82 of the 92 defendants charged across child nutrition, housing services, and autism-related fraud cases are Somali Americans. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson characterized the schemes as “staggering, industrial-scale fraud,” estimating that total losses could ultimately exceed $9 billion once investigations are complete.

Documented losses so far include nearly $300 million from the Feeding Our Future child nutrition case, approximately $220 million from autism-related Medicaid fraud, and $302 million from Housing Stabilization Services, bringing confirmed losses to about $822 million.

Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit founded in 2016, claimed during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide meals to children across Minnesota. Federal prosecutors allege the organization instead diverted at least $250 million while delivering few, if any, meals. Court records show the group claimed to operate 299 meal sites serving roughly 90 million meals in under two years. Surveillance at one site that reported serving 6,000 meals per day found an average of only about 40 visitors. Prosecutors say roughly 3 percent of the funds went toward food, with the remainder distributed among conspirators.

Seventy-eight individuals were indicted in the Feeding Our Future case, with more than 50 pleading guilty and seven convicted at trial. State officials identified possible fraud as early as July 2019. When the Minnesota Department of Education attempted to halt payments in December 2020, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ruled the state lacked legal authority to stop payments at that time.

Federal sources have also stated that some misappropriated funds may have been sent overseas, including to individuals linked to al-Shabaab in Somalia. One recovered message referenced sending money to a market in Mogadishu previously controlled by the group. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an investigation into whether public assistance funds were diverted to designated terrorist organizations.

Thompson said investigators began uncovering related fraud as defendants appeared across multiple programs, including Medicaid-funded autism services. In one case, prosecutors charged Asha Farhan Hassan and her partners with recruiting children from the Somali community who did not have autism diagnoses, then working with professionals to improperly qualify them for services. Parents allegedly received monthly cash payments ranging from $300 to $1,500 per child. Another defendant submitted roughly $6 million in Medicaid claims through a similar recruitment scheme.

Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program, launched in July 2022, was intended to help vulnerable individuals secure stable housing. Federal prosecutors allege some providers billed Medicaid for services that were never provided, submitted inflated or false claims, continued billing after clients had died, or billed for individuals who were already stably housed. Companies implicated include Brilliant Minds Services, Faladcare, Leo Human Services, Liberty Plus LLC, and Foundation First. Liberty Plus alone allegedly received more than $1.2 million in fraudulent funds.

Governor Tim Walz’s administration shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program in October 2025 after federal investigators warned it was highly vulnerable to fraud. Former Minnesota Attorney General investigator Kayseh Magan wrote that fraud often emerges “when desire meets opportunity,” noting that service providers sometimes exploit trust within close-knit communities to recruit participants.

During a Cabinet meeting, President Trump commented on the Minnesota cases, stating that large-scale fraud had cost the state billions of dollars. Governor Walz criticized federal rhetoric surrounding the investigations, arguing it unfairly stigmatized Minnesota’s Somali community.

Fiscal analyses cited by critics argue that, apart from fraud losses, Somali households in Minnesota receive substantially more in public benefits than they contribute in state and local taxes. Much of the tax contribution attributed to the community consists of sales taxes paid using government benefits or indirect property taxes embedded in rent payments, which economists note largely recycle public funds rather than generating new revenue.

With confirmed fraud losses already exceeding $800 million and investigations ongoing, federal authorities say the Minnesota cases represent one of the largest public assistance fraud scandals in U.S. history.

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