YouTuber’s Viral Investigation of Minnesota Fraud Touted by Vance, MAGA Media

Oliver Contreras/Pool Photo via AP

YouTuber Nick Shirley gained high praise from Vice President JD Vance on Saturday for his investigation of alleged fraud in Minnesota child care facilities.

Shirley’s video investigation, titled “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal,” went viral last week, reaching over 100 million views on X. The video shows Shirley visiting day care centers in the state, some of which appear deserted. When employees are present, Shirley presses them with questions about their care or alleged fraud, at one point getting escorted out of a health care facility by law enforcement.

Shirley, who appeared at a White House roundtable in October, was lauded by many significant figures on the right, including Elon Musk and Vice President Vance.

“This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 @pulitzercenter prizes,” wrote Vance, reposting the video.

Elon Musk shared it to his X with the caption “Prosecute @GovTimWalz,” later reposting a report of the video’s impressive view count with the line: “More than any the daily readership of all newspapers in America combined.”

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), who serves as the House majority whip, also reposted the video and called for an explanation, while FBI Director Kash Patel announced a surge in “personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota” in light of “recent social media reports” in the state.

Fraud in Minnesota became the subject of recent scrutiny after The New York Times reported a massive fraud scheme that, according to federal prosecutors, stole “more than $1 billion in taxpayers’ money.” Somali Americans made up 89% of the defendants charged, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz defended his “aggressive” record combating fraud on Monday as he scrambled to contain the widening political fallout from Shirley’s video and the publicity surrounding the fraud investigation.

In a statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for Walz said: “The governor 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 — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed.”