‘Nobody checks on it’: Curley believes alleged Minnesota day care fraud could happen in WA

The Trump administration announced it is freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes involving government programs, The Associated Press (AP) reported Tuesday.

Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill called out a right-wing influencer who posted a video claiming he found that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud.

KIRO host John Curley believes fraudsters were able to stay hidden because people feared reporting them over potential backlash.

“Nobody checks on it, and then if you did check on it, someone’s, ‘Oh, you’re anti-Semitic, you’re an Islamophobe, you’re racist, you’re something, you’re horrible,” Curley said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “So everybody’s just let it go. Nobody said anything. And apparently they think the fraud is close to, if not more than, a billion dollars.”

According to The AP, there have been years of fraud investigations that started with a $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. In that scheme, 57 defendants in Minnesota were convicted.

Curley said a citizen journalist is now looking into Washington day cares to see if the same fraud is occurring. Curley added that he could see it being a possibility.

“I would imagine that if you can do it in Minnesota and you can do it in Florida, because they find some of the same stuff happening in Florida, you would probably be able to do it in Washington as well,” he said. “Because, again, if it’s one of these things where nobody wants to look and nobody wants to really say anything, because they don’t want to be accused of being a racist, then you look the other way.”

Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown released a statement in response to “harassment and unsubstantiated claims of fraud” targeted at day cares run by Somalis in Washington.

“My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking.

“We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers.

“Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior. I encourage anyone experiencing threats or harassment to either contact local law enforcement or our office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline at 1-855-225-1010 or www.atg.wa.gov/report-hate.

“If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate. Go to DCYF’s website to learn more. And where fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable,” Brown stated.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to John Curley weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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