Day cares featured in Nick Shirley video sue Minnesota for throwing them "under the bus" to appease federal government

Three Minnesota child care centers featured in a viral video alleging fraud at Somali-run day cares are now suing the state of Minnesota, claiming they were unfairly punished.

In late December, the ABC Learning Center day care in Minneapolis was one of nearly a dozen thrust into the national spotlight. It wasn't by choice — at least not the owner's. 

Umi Hassan found herself needing to defend the legitimacy of her business after conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley leveled sweeping fraud accusations, often without definitive evidence, against Somali-owned day cares. Days after Shirley's viral video went public, the federal government sent thousands of additional ICE agents into Minnesota under the banner of Operation Metro Surge.

About a month and a half later, White House border czar Tom Homan declared that the surge is over but noted that a certain number of agents will remain in the state in order to handle fraud. Despite an overt focus on immigration enforcement, boasting thousands of arrests, federal officials have not provided much by way of updates on the issue of day care fraud. 

Hassan said no one from DHS has asked her about her business; instead, what she's seen is ICE profiling her neighbors. 

"I couldn't sleep, to be honest. I couldn't eat. I feel like I am in war, experiencing trauma all over again," Hassan said. "I have never thought in my life in being a U.S. citizen i need to take my passport to buy milk." 

Hassan said that the weeks since Shirley's video have been difficult, but she's been grateful for people who have stood up for a Somali community that is overwhelmingly made up of American citizens. She agrees that those who are committing fraud should be held accountable, but said she saw little evidence of that being the point of Operation Metro Surge. 

The Minnesota State Department of Children, Youth and Families last provided an update on its own investigations in January, noting that while the day cares in Shirley's video were operating "as expected," there were active and ongoing investigations for four of them. One of the day cares featured by Shirley as an example of a fraudulent business had already been closed for some time. 

While the state has not specified which locations were under investigation, three day cares are now suing DCYF officials. Hopkins Child Care Center LLC, Cloud Academy LLC and St. Cloud Childcare Inc. each allege that the state's investigations that followed the Shirley video were done in bad faith. The lawsuit reveals that all three have had their CCAP funds temporarily suspended. 

Attorney Jason Steck, representing the day cares, said that the language against Hopkins Child Care Center and Cloud Academy is overtly vague. Steck is arguing that St. Cloud Childcare, which the state said is facing "credible" allegations of fraud according to the lawsuit, is losing funding over a minor misunderstanding related to child attendance record-keeping. 

The lawsuit states that DCYF threw these three day cares "under the bus... to appease the federal government."

In the meantime, the owner of Future Leaders Early Learning Center is now the 79th person charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. That day care is featured in Shirley's video, but it's important to note that Shirley was alleging fraud related to CCAP, which is wholly separate from Feeding Our Future. 

Investigators say Fahima Mahamud was claiming to feed over 1,000 children per day at the center in June 2021. According to her charges, she closed that day care last week — and booked a flight to London. She's now under house arrest and is required to wear a GPS monitor when she leaves the home, which is only permitted when she is going to work. 

WCCO has reached out to both the state DCYF and the federal DHS; neither has provided responses by the time of publishing.