A Somali-run day care in Minneapolis is claiming somebody broke in and stole “important documents,” but cops say the facility didn’t report anything was actually taken.
The alleged burglary comes as the national spotlight shines on the unfolding multibillion-dollar fraud scandal involving Minnesota human services, with particular scrutiny on day care facilities run by Somali immigrants after dozens of people from the community have been busted for pilfering state funds.
Nasrulah Mohamed, manager of Nakomis Day Care Center, told reporters that a suspect entered through the kitchen at the rear of the facility, damaging a wall and breaking into the building’s office, sometime on Tuesday.
He said the alleged prowler stole “important documentation” including children’s enrollment information, employee documentation and checkbooks.
However “no loss was reported to officers,” according to a preliminary report by the Minneapolis Police Department.
MPD noted that the center later reached out with additional information, but the updated police report was not immediately available.
Video of the purported break-in shared by Nakomis Day Care showed a hole in the wall in what appeared to be a utility closet with nearly stacked piles of cinder blocks behind the drywall.
Mohamed blamed last week’s viral video by YouTuber Nick Shirley, in which he visited nearly a dozen day care facilities looking for evidence of fraud, for the incident.
“This is devastating news, and we don’t know why this is targeting our Somali community as one video made by a specific individual made this all happen,” he said, claiming they’ve received “hateful” and “threatening” messages over the last several days.
“This is frightening and exhausting,” he said, calling Shirley’s reporting “false.”
Nakomis Day Care Center was not one of the facilities featured in Shirley’s video, which has been viewed over 110 million times.
At least $1 billion in fraud has been uncovered by authorities in Minneapolis so far, including fraudulent food, housing and child care payments, with warnings from the US Attorney’s Office that the true figure could be as high as $9 billion.
Ninety-two people have been arrested in connection with the scheme, 80 of whom are Somali immigrants.
On Tuesday night, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced it was freezing all child care payments to Minnesota — which totaled $185 million in 2025 alone — unless proof is provided that the payments are legitimate.
In response, embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has faced growing criticism for standing idly by as a billion dollars or more taxpayer funds disappeared to fraudsters on his watch, blamed the Trump administration in a social media post.
“This is Trump’s long game,” Walz wrote on X Tuesday night.
“We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.”
The Post visited several of the day cares Shirley spotlighted in his video, including Quality “Learing” Center, which was suspiciously bustling with children despite the state Department of children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) saying it had shuttered last week.
