Empty lot, shuttered business among 22 sites targeted in Twin Cities fraud raid
Officials from St. Paul to Washington D.C. applauded federal fraud raids on sites across the Twin Cities Metro, but it's still unclear what federal investigators actually found or what they were looking for in the first place.
That's because search warrants and other records are still sealed. WCCO attempted to reach as many owners as possible at the more than 20 locations that got a visit from the feds on Tuesday, but very few responded.
Kassim Busuri, a former St. Paul City Councilor, now operates the A Plus Universal Child Care and Learning Center in Shakopee. He directed us to contact his attorney, who did not return our calls.
An employee at Aspen Associates LLC in Fridley, one of five raided sites that use state dollars to provide services to people with autism under the age of 21, said over the phone that he didn't know why they were targeted. He declined to identify himself.
The landlord of the infamous Quality Learning Center in Minneapolis, a woman who asked us not to use her name and said she had no direct involvement in the day care, said that she too was confused when federal agents showed up. She said that the actual day care has been closed since January.
"Every time they came here, either the YouTuber or them [federal investigators], they scaring, they scare everybody, the neighbor[s], everybody," the building owner said.
She took WCCO inside the facility that gained national attention after featuring in conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley's video in December, which alleged fraud at multiple sites. The former day care still has multiple colorful rooms with images of animals, letters and numbers.
According to her security footage, federal investigators were inside for about two hours. She said that they left with nothing important; but a copy of the warrant she said agents left behind showed that investigators claimed a sign-in sheet, a security system monitor, and an invoice.
When asked about fraud, she said that at times the number of kids inside the day care created so much noise that she had to turn the music up at the restaurant next door to drown them out.
"I see the kids was coming. The parking lot was full of cars," she said.
So far there have been no announced arrests or charges connected to these latest raids, making it difficult to determine what kind of fraud officials are alleging. While state leadership has criticized federal operations and accusations in the past, that wasn't the case on Tuesday.
"This is an important action for families who rely on autism services and for Minnesota taxpayers fed up – as I am – with criminals taking advantage of the systems we have in place to deliver social services," Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said in part in a statement.
As state officials touted collaboration with federal agencies, FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media to refute the idea that Minnesota leaders should take any credit.
"This FBI and DOJ with our DHS partners drafted and executed every search warrant today. But go ahead and take credit for our work while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship," Patel said on X in response to a statement from Gov. Tim Walz.
Both the FBI and state DHS declined to speak further with WCCO on Wednesday.
