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Former HSI Agent Says Minnesota Day Care Fraud Probe “Evaporated” Without Charges in 2015

A former HSI agent says a Minnesota day care fraud investigation vanished without charges, raising questions amid renewed federal scrutiny.

By Moupriya
Jeremy Christenson, a retired Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent, revealed how a probe at Minnesota day care centers "went into thin air," without anything ever coming of it. The man worked for the agency for 16 years. In an interview with Alpha News, Christenson recalled that back in 2015, he was part of a team of agents who were investigating the day care centers in Minnesota. According to the retired agent, the daycares were run by Somali migrants, and they almost seemed empty. Ex-HSI employee Christenson told Alpha News:
"[They] were setting up sham day cares, [with] fake bills, fake students, or just enrolling students that never came. It was just all fake daycares. That's the easiest way to explain it."
He continued:
"Never, not one of the daycares I served warrants on, not one person was ever present. Just empty buildings, stacks of invoices and student records of people that our surveillance showed never went there."
There were around 20 law enforcement agents in the task force, along with the state Department of Human Services. However, according to Christenson, the team inexplicably "just kind of went away," all of a sudden. Speaking with the news outlet, the retired HSI agent said,
"All of a sudden, it just evaporated, just went away into thin air. No idea whatever happened with the case."
This revelation came amid another big fraud case in Minnesota. Many individuals within the Somali immigrant community in the North Star State have been accused of conning millions of dollars in state aid meant for day care centers. An investigation was launched into the matter following the viral video from Nick Shirley, an independent journalist. Shirley's video showed that many daycare centers in Minnesota received millions in state funding, but remained inactive. According to the New York Post, Nick's video exposed one center in particular, which had a misspelled sign, and received about $4 million in taxpayer money. However, despite advertising saying it was open, the doors were closed. Following the bombshell video, FBI Director Kash Patel said that the agency is making great efforts to "dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs." Patel said that the FBI has deployed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota. On Sunday, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing." "Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigration officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible," added Patel.

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