Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently visited Minnesota, where he spoke with citizen journalists, local politicians, and law enforcement officials about the ongoing fraud allegations that have engulfed the state. The amount of money stolen is reportedly in the billions, maybe even the hundreds of billions. That figure was corroborated by Mr. Bessent, who said that on average, around 10 percent of the budget, around $300-600 billion, is stolen every year. He made these points to reporter Christopher Rufo:
🚨 HOLY SH!T! Sec. Scott Bessent says as much as 10% of the U.S. budget is fraud — $300-600 BILLION in taxpayer dollars is stolen EVERY YEAR pic.twitter.com/lnDE86ytlr
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 11, 2026
This story comes after YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a viral video where he exposed these reportedly fraudulent daycare centers, the most infamous being “The Learing Center.” There were supposed to be around 100 students enrolled here, and it was also receiving millions in government funds. And yet, Shirley found it empty, occupied by dudes watching television. Most of these companies are on paper-only, with many Somalis taking from the cookie jar. David Hoch, who helped Shirley in the reporting of this story, tracked medical transportation companies that have done nothing. The vehicles are still in the lots, collecting cash. The offices for these so-called companies are apartment complexes. No one has checked these operations.
When Bessent came for this roundtable discussion, Gov. Tim Walz reportedly didn’t guarantee security at the state capitol, which led to Bessent delivering this haymaker:
🔥 NEW: Sec. Scott Bessent Says Tim Walz Won’t Be Able to Hide From This Fraud Investigation
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 11, 2026
“Tim Walz is a coward … He is afraid of what is coming and he's not going to be able to hide.” pic.twitter.com/Qc4tDxJEJz
Tim Walz is a coward. He is a coward. He would not guarantee that the Treasury Secretary would have protection in the Minnesota State Capitol. He's afraid of what is coming.
“He's not gonna be able to hide,” he said. “We will get there.”
He later credited the work of independent reporters, like Rufo and Shirley, though he didn’t name the latter by name, for doing the work that the mainstream press won’t do because it makes Democrats look bad.
Shirley has inspired others to get their phones and knock on the doors of these daycares with wild results—and it’s not just a Minnesota problem. It’s a nationwide problem, which is why the Justice Department is creating a new assistant attorney general to oversee the investigation, as announced by Vice President JD Vance last week.
🚨 JUST IN: Nick Shirley's right-hand man David just confirmed EVEN MORE is about to come out about the Somali fraud, 10 TIMES WORSE
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 11, 2026
"We have a 2ND video that's coming out Monday that is 10 TIMES WORSE than the original video. Shocking and graphic."
"So I've been researching… pic.twitter.com/PhXjO7XeJj
Full Interview with Rufo:
Full roundtable:
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