A woman linked to a large fraud scandal in Minnesota faces charges connected to a daycare fraud scheme, officials announced. Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court records.
Mahamud, the owner of a daycare featured in a viral video by influencer Nick Shirley, reportedly pocketed millions intended for children’s meals. Earlier this year, authorities indicted her for involvement in the massive $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scandal. She allegedly enrolled Future Leaders Early Learning, a Minneapolis daycare where she was CEO, into the federal child nutrition program with false claims of serving thousands of meals.
In addition to these charges, Mahamud stands accused of defrauding the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which helps low-income families afford daycare. From October 2022 to December 2025, she allegedly submitted over 13,000 fraudulent claims totaling about $4.6 million. Prosecutors claim she falsely certified collecting required co-payments from families, a necessary step for federal reimbursement.
The Future Leaders Early Learning center became known after being featured in Shirley’s video, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis. The video showed him at seemingly empty, Somali-run childcare centers around Minneapolis, alleging widespread fraud. This led to a swift multiagency response during the Trump administration.
Following the video’s emergence, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) froze around $185 million in federal childcare funding for Minnesota. More than 2,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were sent to the Twin Cities to intensify investigations and enforcement efforts.
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