After the release of Nick Shirley's exposé revealing alleged fraud in Minneapolis, Minnesota, we flew to Columbus, Ohio, to see what might be going on in America's second largest Somali community.
The first Somali-associated daycare facility that we knocked after landing in Columbus, Ohio, Great Minds Learning Academy, did not answer. A neighbor across the street told us, “I’ve never seen nobody come out the building or go in the building.”
To be absolutely clear, we do not allege any wrongdoing on the part of Great Minds Learning Academy nor do we allege that Great Minds is Somali owned.
However, Great Minds Learning Academy is associated with the Somali Education and Resource Center, a 501c3 non-profit organization that received over 12 million dollars from the state of Ohio in 2025. The Somali Education and Resource Center has links to over 40 other learning and daycare centers in the state of Ohio, with some speculating that the non-profit is now defunct.
We will release more information as our investigation continues.
FIRST SIGNS OF MASSIVE POTENTIAL SOMALI FRAUD IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
— Muckraker.com (@realmuckraker) December 30, 2025
The first Somali-affiliated daycare facility that we knocked after landing in Columbus, Ohio today did not answer.
A neighbor across the street told us, “I’ve never seen nobody come out the building or go in the… pic.twitter.com/zywy9lPDMw
