Sen. Nesbitt Requests Audits Of MiLEAP Programs From Auditor General

The explosion of fraud claims against Minnesota social programs has been noticed across the country.  Sen. Aric Nesbitt requested the Michigan Office of the Auditor General, Doug A. Ringler, audit Michigan's equivalent programs on Friday, January 2nd:

https://www.mlive.com/politics/2026/01/michigan-republican-senate-leader-requests-audit-of-states-child-care-program.html

Michigan Republican Senate leader requests audit of state’s child care program
By Danielle James | January 5, 2026

Michigan Republican Senate leader requests audit of state’s child care program.  Michigan’s Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, has requested the state’s auditor general investigate a program providing early care and afterschool programs to low-income Michiganders.

LANSING, MI - Michigan’s Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, has requested the state’s auditor general investigate a program funding early care and afterschool programs for low-income Michiganders.

The request by Nesbitt, who is also a candidate for Michigan governor, comes amid fresh attention to a series of major fraud cases being prosecuted by federal authorities in Minnesota.

Nesbitt’s request also comes the same day Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he would not seek reelection for a third term, directly citing the fraud as a reason for dropping out.

Nesbitt said finding affordable child care is “one of the biggest challenges facing families in Michigan.”

“We must ensure they aren’t being fleeced by criminals like the taxpayers have been in Minnesota,” he said.

Michigan’s Child Development and Care (CDC) Program, housed within the state’s Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP), provides childcare payment assistance - namely scholarships - to eligible low-income families.

On Friday, Jan. 2, Nesbitt sent a letter to Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler requesting an official investigation into the program, which he said received over $540 million in taxpayer support this year.

“We must make sure these taxpayer dollars are being spent to help Michigan families, not foreign scammers,” Nesbitt said. “We cannot afford to wait until the money is all gone to start asking questions.”

MiLEAP had not returned a request for comment on the audit request as of the time of publishing.

A series of major fraud cases dealing with government programs in Minnesota, now being prosecuted by federal authorities, have been the subject of investigation for several years now. The cases center around several meal distribution, housing assistance and autism services programs.

While the extent of the fraud is not yet certain, prosecutors have put the losses from one case dealing with a nutrition program Feeding Our Future at $300 million, with one prosecutor estimating that the total from all cases could exceed $1 billion. Federal charges have been levied against nearly 100 people in total, according to reporting by CBS News.

But while the investigations have been ongoing for several years, a viral social media video by YouTuber Nick Shirley brought fresh nationwide attention last month.

Shirley, whose video was amplified by tech billionaire Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance and drew tens of millions of views, focused on allegations of fraud at daycares in Minneapolis.

Federal prosecutors have said that is less of a priority than looking into more than a dozen other social services programs like nutrition, housing and behavioral health, and state officials have reported several child care centers accused of fraud are operating as expected.

But President Donald Trump’s administration has requested officials in Minnesota provide information about providers and parents who receive federal funds for childcare, and has focused attention on the state’s large Somali community, with most of fraud defendants of Somali descent. In the statement ending his reelection bid, Walz condemned that focus as “disgusting” and “dangerous.”

Trump’s administration also announced it would pause federal funding to child care in Minnesota, which he called a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to how all states must submit claims for Medicaid-supported daycares.

Michigan’s CDC program was recently audited, with a report covering an 18-month period released in November 2025.

From Oct. 1, 2022 through March 31, 2024, it was found that approximately 8,200 childcare providers received CDC scholarship payments totaling $692.5 million and related to 66,500 children.

The audit looked at communication with program providers and gave the agency a rating of “not effective,” in part due to issues with the CDC program’s call center, which handles assistance on issues like billing and payments.

The auditor general’s office found that around 60% of those incoming calls (73,619 of 123,612) went unanswered, due to insufficient staffing levels, operating hours and telephone system configurations.

After the audit period, MiLEAP said it began taking steps to improve call center performance, but unanswered call volume remained over 60% as of August 2025, according to the auditor general’s office.

Nesbitt said “every tax dollar lost to fraud or waste makes it even more difficult for law-abiding Michiganders to get the child care they need.”

He referenced a previous auditor general report identifying improper payments by the state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency in 2023, and asked that an additional audit be conducted to “ensure the appropriate use of child care subsidies in our state.”