Several Somali-owned daycare facilities, including a cluster located at a strip mall, are being examined by ABC6 Investigates for potential fraud in Columbus, Ohio.
Calls to investigate alleged fraud at Somali-owned childcare centers intensified after a viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley, who was seen canvassing multiple Somali-run daycare centers accused of fraud in Minnesota. Following the attention, ABC6 Investigates reported Monday that it identified several Somali daycares in northeast Columbus that are now under review.
While the outlet did not name specific facilities or accuse them of wrongdoing, ABC6 Investigates noted that a U-Haul key drop-off was visible at the front door of one center. As the investigation gets underway, the outlet confirmed it requested public records from both Franklin County and the state of Ohio related to public funds, overpayments and potential fraud tied to the identified centers.
Ohio has the second-largest Somali population in the United States after Minnesota, with an estimated 60,000 Somali Americans living in the Columbus area, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Interest in the issue has also prompted calls from some Republican lawmakers to investigate the claims. Republican Ohio Rep. Josh Williams posted on X on Tuesday calling for the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to open a probe into “all Columbus-area daycares suspected of potential fraud.”
“We need round-the-clock, unannounced inspections of all childcare facilities receiving public dollars to make sure not a single Ohioan’s tax dollars are being stolen. What’s happening in Minnesota is almost certainly occurring in Columbus– and Ohio needs to use every power we have under the law to put a stop to it,” Williams posted with a formal request letter attached.
A spokesperson for Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told The Columbus Dispatch on Tuesday that the apparent “surge” is “not accurate,” noting that daycare center fraud has “been known to the state for decades” and that Ohio already has “robust anti-fraud measures” in place.
“If people are out there who could not contemplate that people were trying to defraud the public through day care centers, I understand it’s new to them … but it’s been known to the state for decades,” DeWine’s spokesperson Dan Tierney told the outlet. “So therefore, we have robust anti-fraud measures to try and stop this, this is something that is unfortunately the cost of doing business.”
Notably, Tierney declined to answer The Columbus Dispatch’s inquiry about the allegations regarding Somali immigrants.
According to ABC6 Investigates, there has been a 20% decrease from 2024 to 2025 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for non-U.S. citizens. The data, from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, showed a drop from 52,000 to 41,000 recipients following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which limited SNAP benefits to certain groups.
Following Shirley’s viral video, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Sunday that the agency would ramp up its investigation into the state, stating the agency had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
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