YouTuber Nick Shirley gets FBI response to Minnesota fraud probe
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Nick Shirley, a top pro-MAGA YouTuber, speaks at the White House in October. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Nick Shirley, a MAGA-friendly YouTuber, lit up X during Christmas week with video reports from Minnesota alleging massive fraud in government-funded child care programs — and provoked approving responses from the FBI and Vice President JD Vance.
Why it matters: Shirley, 23 — who has more than 1 million YouTube subscribers and spoke during a White House roundtable this fall — is one of several young "independent journalists" turning heads among conservatives and Trump administration officials by going on-location and quickly posting minimalist, outrage-inducing videos.
In one viral scene from Minneapolis, Shirley stands in front of the supposed Quality Learning Center, misspelled on the sign as a "Learing" center — a "day care center that can't even spell 'learning' right," Shirley deadpans to the camera. The building appears abandoned at midday on a weekday.
- Administration officials argue that Minnesota — under Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic VP candidate — is a hotbed of fraud perpetrated by the state's large Somali community.
- Walz's office told Fox News he "has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action … He has strengthened oversight."
The backstory: A federal prosecutor — Joe Thompson, first assistant U.S. attorney for Minnesota — said earlier this month that $9 billion or more in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen, including COVID-related fraud.
- Somali Americans make up 82 of the 92 (89%) defendants charged, according to the U.S. attorney's office for Minnesota.
What they're saying: Vance, reposting Shirley's 42-minute report, said: "This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 [Pulitzer] prizes."
- FBI Director Kash Patel, under the heading "CASE UPDATE: MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME," said yesterday: "The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs."
Zoom in: Shirley's video about Minnesota "fraudsters" has over 1 million views on YouTube and over 100 million on X, where it has spread widely in the MAGA universe.
- It's not the first time his videos have apparently prompted an administration response. In September, he posted a widely watched video, "I Confronted Dangerous Migrant Scammers in NYC," about vendors selling counterfeit goods on Lower Manhattan's Canal Street. Less than a month later, ICE agents targeted the area and said they detained nine men in the country illegally.
