Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks at a podium in Seattle. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
When Fox News Digital attempted to recreate the 539 day care center list Wednesday from the official Department of Child and Youth Services website, the option to select Somali as a primary language had either been removed or was not there. Magnuson said several of the day cares lacked addresses or other standard identifying information.
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Choe replied to Washington Gov. Ferguson on X, warning that he has a "serious Somali fraud problem in (his) state," particularly in King County, Washington, which Choe alleged was "especially out of control."
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"Hey Bob, can you explain this for us?" Higby replied to Ferguson on X, while including a video of him reportedly approaching an address in Federal Way, Washington, that he alleged received more than $200,000 in subsidies.
In the video, a man who accompanied Higby approached the door of the apparent residence and asked if the building was "Dhagash Family Child Care" — as a female voice responded, "no," and Higby said "rustling" could be heard as his partner approached a home security camera.
In another video, Higby alleged he went to an address listed for a day care that allegedly received $800,000 in subsidies in the town of Kent, Washington, but found "no daycare here" when he approached what appeared to be a residential address.
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"Records show massive subsidy payments following inspections reflecting risk of death to children," Higby wrote.
"There are 539 childcare centers in Washington state that list Somali as the primary language. Most don’t even give a street address. I don’t know how many of these are submitting fraudulent claims for state grants and subsidies, but I have a strong hunch the number is not zero," read a separate statement from Magnuson.
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) told Fox News Digital that the agency "appreciate(s) our licensed child care providers and the important work they do to care for and educate our youngest learners."
"We take fraud seriously. Washington state utilizes a variety of measures to minimize fraud. For example, DCYF conducts unannounced site visits at every licensed childcare provider at least once per year," the agency said.
DCYF also randomly audits its rolls to confirm the accuracy of disbursements to the day care providers, the agency said, verifying attendance and matching families authorized to receive such benefits. The agency said it tallied 1,440 audits in 2024.
Of the lack of addresses found by Magnuson, DCYF said the state has addresses for every provider listed even if the public-facing website lacks full data, and that about 5,500 providers or 2.6% statewide do list Somali as their "language spoken."
DCYF told Fox News Digital that anyone suspecting fraud should contact the state's hotline directly at 1‐800‐562‐6906.
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Washington state government reporter Carleen Johnson also replied to Ferguson’s tweet saying she visited several "Somali-run home daycare centers" in Federal Way, comparing her visits to those of YouTuber Nick Shirley in Minneapolis.
"There were no children and no one willing to chat with this reporter. They threatened me with police," she said.
Amid the videos dropping, Washington Democratic Attorney General Nicholas Brown said his office received complaints from Somali residents "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," Brown said, adding that showing up on a person’s porch and "threatening or harassing them is not an investigation; neither is filming minors who may be in the home."
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Brown urged anyone subjected to that treatment to contact police or his office’s Hate Crimes & Bias hotline.
"If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate," Brown said in a statement. Where "fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable."
Higby responded to Brown appearing to reference his work, tweeting that "journalists showing up to daycares and asking for applications is not harassment or threatening -- unless of course, it’s a fraudulent daycare, then it may be threatening to the fraud ring."
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The FAA issued a ground stop for the Seattle airport. (Reuters/Chris Helgren)
Neither Brown’s nor Ferguson’s office responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by press time.
According to Newsweek, Magnuson filtered her searches for Somali as the primary language of a day care, and added a filter for Washington "Early Achievers" program beneficiaries, which "entitles them to state funding. That second filter cut the number of centers returned to 274," according to the outlet.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/washington-officials-blast-conservatives-minnesota-style-day-care-fraud-claims-new-state