A pair of independent journalists, Cam Higby and Jonathan Choe, put together their own investigation of Somali daycare centers in Seattle, Washington. Yesterday they posted this teaser which focuses on one location called Dhagash Childcare. This site is listed online as an up-to-date childcare center with 3 kids enrolled, but when they first went to the door, no one answered.
A bit later another person went to the door and someone answered using a Ring doorbell. That person said there was no daycare center there and never had been. Neighbors confirmed they hadn't seen any children there and wondered how the residents were paying the rent.
🚨SOMALI FRAUD IN WASHINGTON: @choeshow and I spent yesterday investigating Somali daycares in WA.
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) December 30, 2025
“Dhagash Childcare” has received over $210,000 just this year. People living at the address claim there has never been a daycare there.
We lay out the facts in this teaser ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KNkmJfV2Ss
As you can see at the end of that clip. Higby and Choe are not claiming that every Somali daycare is a fraud. They have already encountered several that appeared legitimate, but that only helps convince them that some are not. If there are no kids, no toys and no recent sign of kids, that's probably not a legitimate daycare.
Washington State's Attorney General responded with this post on X:
My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking.
— Attorney General Nick Brown (@AGOWA) December 31, 2025
We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims…
My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking.
We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers.
Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior. I encourage anyone experiencing threats or harassment to either contact local law enforcement or our office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline at 1-855-225-1010 or http://atg.wa.gov/report-hate.
If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate. Go to DCYF’s website to learn more. And where fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable.
There is zero evidence anyone has been threatened or harassed and I suspect video from every home will back that up. Suggesting people contact law enforcement because a journalist knocked on the door of your publicly funded business seems pretty extreme.
Last night, Higby posted another video about another daycare in Kent, WA. This also didn't appear occupied and a person inside said there was no daycare at the site. That contradicts the state paperwork which shows the site has received $800,000 in payments in the past two years.
🚨$800,000 FOR FAKE DAYCARE?
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) December 31, 2025
I went to the listed address for “Hilowle Safia Daycare” in Kent, WA. Residents say there IS NO DAYCARE HERE.
Records show massive subsidy payments following inspections reflecting risk of death to children. pic.twitter.com/8lFWCjIqpo
Also yesterday, a Washington state senator has created new legislation designed to hide information about publicly funded daycares from the public.
BREAKING: In response to the massive daycare fraud being exposed by independent journalists using state websites, WA State Senator Lisa Wellman has pre-filed legislation to hide information about daycares and their operators from the public pic.twitter.com/YBwyiiXaVJ
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) December 31, 2025
This is just getting started but it's already pretty clear that elected Democrats and their media allies are taking sides. CNN came in eager to debunk Nick Shirley's video but could only get one of the disputed daycares to call them back. Despite that, and a history of prosecuted fraud in the state, they ran a story as if his investigation was irrelevant. Just once it would be nice to see CNN surprise me with an actual investigation instead of partisan ass-covering.
No one on earth is surprised that CNN appears to side with Somali fraudsters. https://t.co/6t1pP4dHBk
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) December 31, 2025
There's going to be a lot more like this in the coming days and little or no acknowledgement of the problems in the mainstream media.
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