Minnesota daycare owner outed by Nick Shirley admitted to filing more than $4.6M in false claims
By Chris Nesi
Published July 10, 2026, 12:48 p.m. ET
Bombshell video puts Tim Walz under fire over alleged Somali daycare scheme in Minnesota
A Minnesota daycare center owner featured in YouTuber Nick Shirley’s viral video showcasing alleged bogus childcare facilities has admitted that she defrauded the US government out of millions of dollars — which she used, in part, to buy up real estate.
Fahima Mahamud, CEO of Future Leaders Early Learning Center in Minneapolis — which was featured in Shirley’s December video round-up of questionable facilities around the Twin Cities — pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the US.
According to prosecutors, between October 2022 and November 2025, Mahamud filed claims for more than $4.6 million from the Child Care Assistance Program — a federal program that provides daycare assistance for low-income families — on behalf of recipients who never paid the required co-payment.
A Minneapolis daycare owner who prosecutors said tried to flee the United States two days after shutting her center down pleaded guilty to fraud charges on Thursday.
According to prosecutors, Future Leaders also received over $850,000 between January and July 2021 through Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota food program that bilked taxpayers out of $250 million and led to charges against 79 individuals involved in the fraud, many of them of Somali descent.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/10/us-news/minnesota-daycare-owner-in-viral-video-admitted-to-filing-more-than-4-6m-in-false-claims/
