FBI Director Kash Patel revealed the bureau is cracking down on fraud in Minnesota after a daycare was accused of stealing $4 million in taxpayer money.
In a lengthy X post on Sunday, Patel said the FBI has long been aware of fraud allegations in the state and threatened action against perpetrators.
He vowed to ‘protect the children’ and warned it was as ‘the tip of a very large iceberg’.
His comments came after independent journalist Nick Shirley shared footage of an apparently empty Minnesota daycare, which reportedly received millions in taxpayer funds.
Footage of the facility, featuring a misspelled sign as ‘Quality Learing Center’, sparked outrage among lawmakers and allegations state authorities allowed the ‘largest fraud in US history’ to go unchecked.
The alleged daycare fraud was the latest in a series of misuses of public money uncovered in Minnesota, including a massive Covid-era scheme involving the federally funded nonprofit group Feeding Our Future.
At least 78 people, 72 of whom are Somali, have been charged in connection with the illicit plot.
On Sunday, Patel announced that the FBI had already ‘surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota,’ even before the alleged daycare fraud came to light.