Corporate Media Outlets Turn Blind Eye To Somali Fraud Scandal

Corporate media outlets have largely evaded covering the Somali fraud scandal in Minnesota since Dec. 18, when First Assistant United States Attorney Joe Thompson said losses could total as much as $9 billion.

Thompson described the alleged misconduct in Minnesota’s Medicaid program as “industrial-scale fraud” after previously estimating losses exceeding $1 billion. Despite the scale of the allegations, CNN, MS NOW and NBC News have barely covered the fraud scandal since, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of Grabien transcripts after Mediaite reported that neither CNN nor MS NOW had covered it as of Sunday. 

A Grabien search found that while the outlets have referenced Somalia and fraud-related topics individually since Dec. 18, they have hardly addressed the Minnesota fraud allegations directly.

For instance, a Friday broadcast of “MS NOW Reports” discussed President Donald Trump’s administration’s strikes on Somalia and a phenomenon called “return fraud,” but did not touch on Minnesota’s Somali fraud scandal. CNN and NBC News broadcasts similarly discussed the strikes on Somalia and other topics related to fraud without discussing the scandal.

Moreover, a Wednesday broadcast of “MS NOW Reports” and a Dec. 22 broadcast of MS NOW’s “Deadline: White House” focused on Trump’s rhetoric against Somalis, but failed to spotlight the fraud scandal.

Furthermore, none of the outlets seem to have covered the scandal on their websites since Dec. 18.

CNN, MS NOW and NBC News did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

MS NOW finally covered the topic on Monday’s “Morning Joe” broadcast, but largely suggested it was merely a politically opportune issue for Republicans rather than a legitimate scandal.

“[T]his is a story that’s really gained a lot of traction among conservative media members, among MAGA folks online, including members of the Trump administration. Vice President J.D. Vance was posting about it the other day,” host Jonathan Lemire said. “There’s a lot we don’t know here just yet, but it gives off at least a sense. And we’ll see where the facts take us. But at least we can safely say this: It seems like Republicans are eager to be talking about something else than a lot of the bad news surrounding the president right now.”

“The question is, you know, why is this a priority in a different kind of way? The politicization of the DOJ and the FBI is undeniable. So whether they are reliable narrators is the big question,” MS NOW analyst Mara Gay responded. “And this is what happens when you weaponize and politicize federal agencies that are not meant to be politicized. And I think the American people are right to ask the question, well, can we trust you? And that’s a sad thing to say as an American.”

Gay also said that Somalis were “being scapegoated in a way that certainly serves the far right.”

Thompson said it was possible that half of the roughly $18 billion Minnesota has spent since 2018 on 14 Medicaid programs, especially vulnerable to abuse, may have been siphoned off by fraudsters. Somalia’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $11.97 billion in 2024, according to a release from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, meaning the alleged fraud would represent nearly the country’s entire GDP.

YouTuber Nick Shirley also posted a video on Friday, finding that multiple supposed Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota, including one that reportedly obtained $4 million in taxpayer funds, had no children inside.

Shirley’s 42-minute video had over 115 million views on X as of Monday afternoon. Yet popular X user Matt Van Swol asserted that major outlets, including CNN and MS NOW, had not covered Shirley’s reporting as of Sunday afternoon.

Fox News, Newsmax and NewsNation have repeatedly covered the scandal and Shirley’s video.