December 29, 2025 @ 8:52 AM Share on Social Media — Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 29, 2025 News organizations have covered fraud allegations in Minnesota, with the New York Times, for one, reporting last month on federal prosecutions of people within the Somali community. The Times reported, according to law enforcement officials, that “scores of individuals made small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars’ worth of social services that were never provided.” Still, Shirley’s video, conducted in a compelling first-person style and featuring some stunning images — one child center misspells the word “learning” — has brought fraud allegations in the state to a far wider audience. FBI Director Kash Patel said on X his agency was aware of “recent social media reports in Minnesota” and had already deployed resources in the state to dismantle alleged fraud schemes. He said some of the 78 indictments in the state have included cases of wire fraud and money laundering, and he alluded to issues of “immigration” to blame. “The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg,” Patel wrote on Sunday. “We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing. Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible.” Cabinet secretaries further amplified Shirley’s video in X posts on Monday. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said there were “not enough words to describe the breathtaking failure that has happened under the watch of” Walz, while Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer claimed the “massive Minnesota fraud network has abused federal funds across multiple federal agencies thanks to unbelievably miserable ‘leadership’” of Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). “We will bring an end to the Somali fraud network,” the Department of Labor wrote in an X post quoting Chavez-DeRemer. The video is a major coup for Shirley, who identifies as an independent journalist, though his focus tends to align with the right. Reuters described Shirley as a “pro-Trump influencer” last year in laying out how he recruited Hispanic day laborers at a Home Depot and paid them $20 to hold up signs in support of then-President Joe Biden and immigration. Shirley joined other content creators at White House roundtable on antifa in October, and Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe named him the “Citizen Journalist of the Year” at O’Keefe’s “Citizen Journalist Gala” at Mar-a-Lago in November. Read Next