{"id":2526024,"date":"2025-12-29T08:48:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T13:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/somali-scammers-may-have-stole-enough-minnesota-medicaid-funds-to-match-somalias-gdp\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T08:51:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T13:51:36","slug":"somali-scammers-may-have-stole-enough-minnesota-medicaid-funds-to-match-somalias-gdp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/somali-scammers-may-have-stole-enough-minnesota-medicaid-funds-to-match-somalias-gdp\/","title":{"rendered":"Somali Scammers May Have Stole Enough Minnesota Medicaid Funds to Match Somalia&#8217;s GDP"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsomali-scammers-may-have-stole-enough-minnesota-medicaid-funds-to-match-somalias-gdp%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2526024&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Federal prosecutors say minnesota&#8217;s Medicaid programs may have paid out massive fraudulent claims &#8211; possibly as much as half of roughly $18 billion across 14 programs, with one official estimating up to $9 billion could be fraudulent. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe thompson described the activity as &#8220;industrial\u2011scale fraud,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lot-of-red-flags-florida-surgeon-general-warns-against-new-covid-19-vaccines\/\" title=\"Florida Surgeon General warns against new COVID-19 vaccines, citing numerous ....\">citing numerous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-lost-all-credibility-on-social-distancing-after-biden-celebrations\/\" title=\"Dems Lost All Credibility On Social Distancing After Biden Celebrations\">red flags<\/a><\/a> in claims and providers.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI has sent additional resources after a viral 42\u2011minute video by autonomous journalist Nick Shirley showed visits to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >multiple day care centers allegedly run<\/a> by somalis, sometimes finding no children present. Earlier enforcement by ICE and a Treasury probe were prompted by reports that at least $1 billion had been stolen and allegations some funds flowed to the extremist group Al\u2011Shabaab.<\/p>\n<p>The situation has led to political fallout: whistleblowers in minnesota accused Gov. Tim Walz of retaliating against those who raised concerns, and President Trump announced plans to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota while criticizing refugee policy. The article also notes Somalia&#8217;s 2024 GDP (~$11.97 billion) and mentions whistleblower allegations of similar Somali\u2011linked schemes in Maine and Ohio.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The amount of fraudulent billing in Minnesota&rsquo;s Medicaid programs could be as high as $9 billion, Assistant United States Attorney Joe Thompson said Dec. 18.<\/p>\n<p>FBI Director Kash Patel announced the agency was already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oklahoma-republican-sen-jim-inhofe-announces-early-retirement\/\" title=\"Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe Announces Early Retirement\">sending additional resources<\/a> in an X <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FBIDirectorKash\/status\/2005305530651189719\">post<\/a> Sunday, saying the deployment occurred before a 42-minute <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nickshirleyy\/status\/2004642794862961123\">video<\/a> of independent journalist Nick Shirley visiting various day care centers went viral Friday. Thompson described the situation as involving &ldquo;industrial-scale fraud,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/minnesota\/news\/billions-paid-out-by-medicaid-in-minnesota-may-be-fraudulent-us-attorney\/\">according<\/a> to CBS News Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When I say significant amount, I&rsquo;m talking on the order of half or more, but we&rsquo;ll see,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">BREAKING: First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson stated he believes &ldquo;half or more&rdquo; of the $18 billion spent on 14 programs likely represents fraud in Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>During the conference, he highlighted 14 programs, including autism and housing services, that are flagged as&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f7hkxpMlD0\">pic.twitter.com\/f7hkxpMlD0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; FOX 9 (@FOX9) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FOX9\/status\/2001733325980078247?\">December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Somalia&rsquo;s GDP was $11.97 billion in 2024, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/nbs.gov.so\/somalia-gross-domestic-product-gdp-2024\/\">release<\/a> from the country&rsquo;s Bureau of National Statistics. Whistleblowers in Maine and Ohio have alleged similar schemes by Somali scammers have taken place in those states.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Previously, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surged into the Minneapolis area to target illegal immigrants from Somalia after reports of at least $1 billion in fraud. Allegations that some of the stolen funds went to the radical Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabaab prompted a <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/state-watch\/5629310-treasury-minnesota-al-shabaab-tax-probe\/\">probe<\/a> by the Treasury Department.<\/p>\n<p>In his 42-minute viral video <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nickshirleyy\/status\/2004642794862961123\">posted<\/a> Friday to X, Shirley attempted to visit multiple day care centers run by Somalis that had reportedly received state funds, in many cases not finding children.<\/p>\n<p>&lsquo;What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In November, a number of state employees accused Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of engaging in &ldquo;systemic&rdquo; retaliation against whistleblowers who warned of the fraud schemes. Walz has since criticized President Donald Trump over the administration&rsquo;s response to the reported fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Trump announced he would end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota in response to the allegations of the fraud scheme, and also said the influx of refugees had &ldquo;destroyed our country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MN Medicaid fraud up to $9B; FBI sent aid pre-video<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2526025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2247606772.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[63701,61924,5698,16697],"class_list":["post-2526024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-healthcare-fraud","tag-medicaid-fraud","tag-minnesota","tag-somalia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2247606772.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2526024"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2526028,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526024\/revisions\/2526028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2526025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2526024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2526024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2526024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}