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Nearly two dozen Minnesota day-care centers and other locations were raided Tuesday in a federal investigation into alleged fraud by members of the Somali community.
Dozens of people have already been arrested in the fraud investigations prior to the raids, and some officials estimate the scale of the illegal schemes to be in the billions.
‘We are pleased to see the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and our federal partners taking strong action based on information we have shared with them.’
Among those raided was the infamous “Quality Learing Center” on Nicollet Avenue, which was mocked online for misspelling “learning” in its business sign. Also raided were five centers for the treatment of autism.
“Today the FBI with federal, state, and local law enforcement is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” read a statement from Homeland Security Investigations.
Other places raided included the Fahiye Child Care Center on Jackson Street, Baby Halimo Child Care Inc. on Cedar Avenue, and A Plus Universal Child Care and Learning Center on Shakopee Town Square.
Some of the scams involved the Feeding Our Future nonprofit that swallowed up millions of dollars in pandemic emergency relief funding but lied about supplying meals to hungry families and children. Sixty-five people have already been convicted in the FOF scam.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, which is responsible for licensing day-care centers, applauded the raids in a statement.
“We are pleased to see the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and our federal partners taking strong action based on information we have shared with them,” the organization said. “We will continue sharing information with law enforcement to ensure they are able to conduct thorough criminal investigations.”
RELATED: Founder of Minneapolis autism center admits to kickbacks to Somali families in $6M scam
The fraud scandal has already severely damaged the political career of Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, who was accused of obstructing fraud investigations. Walz denied the allegations but dropped his campaign for re-election to a third term.
“Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences,” Walz said in early January. “So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”
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