The owner of a Minneapolis daycare that appeared in a viral YouTube video exposing Somali fraud has been charged with stealing $4.6 million from the government, prosecutors allege.
Charges Filed
Fahima Mahamud, 50, was charged on Wednesday with conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. Prosecutors say Mahamud submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims for food assistance while serving as CEO of the Future Leaders Early Learning Center.
The Trump administration intensified its crackdown on fraud in Minnesota after independent journalist Nick Shirley released a bombshell video that spotlighted several Somali-run daycare centers, including Mahamud's facility, which had a misspelled sign reading 'Quality Learing Center.'
Fraudulent Claims
Mahamud allegedly submitted over 13,000 claims between October 2022 and December 2025, resulting in $4,629,929 in taxpayer-funded reimbursements from the Child Care Assistance Program administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. At times, she claimed to serve two meals a day to approximately 1,000 different children, seven days a week.
However, prosecutors assert Mahamud knew those meal counts were 'false and inflated' but submitted them anyway to divert funds for personal gain. 'Mahamud diverted much of those taxpayer dollars for the purchase of real property, for the benefit of herself and to other companies,' the court filing stated.
Viral Investigation
Mahamud's business was one of several daycares featured in Shirley's viral fraud investigation. In the video, Shirley visited the daycare in December and was greeted by an unidentified woman who told him he could not fill out an enrollment application. One month later, in January, Mahamud closed the Future Leaders Early Learning Center, according to KARE 11.
In February, she was charged with wire fraud in connection with the Feeding Our Future scandal—a $250 million Somali-linked fraud scheme that prompted Donald Trump's federal crackdown on Minnesota. Prosecutors said Mahamud received $854,000 from the Federal Child Nutrition Program in that scheme between December 2020 and March 2023.
The Daily Mail contacted the US Attorney's Office and Mahamud's lawyer for comment.
Feeding Our Future Scandal
Nearly 80 people have been charged in the Feeding Our Future scheme, which stole approximately $250 million in taxpayer dollars meant to feed hungry children. Instead, the money funded lavish lifestyles. Dozens of individuals, many from Minnesota's large Somali community, have been convicted for their roles in overlapping food fraud cases.
Last year, Trump said Somalis were 'completely taking over' Minnesota and accused the community of widespread fraud, prompting a massive immigration enforcement operation.
Mastermind Sentenced
The mastermind behind the Feeding Our Future scheme, Aimee Bock, 45, was sentenced to more than 41 years in prison on Thursday morning. She was convicted last March of multiple counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery. US District Judge Nancy Brasel admonished Bock in a packed Minneapolis courtroom, stating, 'This was a vortex of fraud and you were its epicenter. A sentence of less than 500 months would not do justice to the people of Minnesota.' Assistant US Attorney Rebecca Kline argued that 'disabling Aimee Bock from ever meaningfully participating in society ever again was the only just outcome.'
