Records show a convicted fraudster was listed as a registered agent for a taxpayer-funded child care center searched in a wider federal probe.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Minneapolis daycare searched by federal agents in April is facing renewed scrutiny after records tied the taxpayer-funded center to a registered agent with fraud and theft convictions.
The Original Childcare Center was among the child care and autism providers searched in a broader fraud investigation across the Twin Cities. No charges have been filed against the center or any of the daycares searched in the April raids. But the case has sharpened questions about how Minnesota screens, tracks and oversees providers that receive public child care money.
Federal agents removed dozens of boxes of records from The Original Childcare Center last month as part of a sweep that included 22 court-approved search warrants in Minnesota. State business records show Carlos Lamar Biggers became one of the registered agents for the center in 2021. A registered agent is the official contact for legal documents and state notices. Tom Calhoun-Lopez, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said the role can be administrative but still matters. “There’s no requirement that a registered agent not have a criminal record,” Calhoun-Lopez said. “But there are many reasons why an organization would not want someone with a significant criminal history in that role, especially for a daycare.”
Police and court records describe Biggers’ criminal history as including counterfeit money, stolen checks, burglary, robbery and theft-related cases dating back to 2017. In one South St. Paul case, investigators said Biggers used fake $100 bills marked with red Chinese symbols to buy a car through Facebook Marketplace. In a jailhouse interview cited in the records, Biggers denied knowing the bills were fake. “I didn’t know,” he told an investigator. “I never dealt with any counterfeit.” Records also describe a similar Rochester case involving the same kind of counterfeit cash and another stolen vehicle. The link between Biggers and The Original Childcare Center does not mean the center committed fraud, and officials have not said whether Biggers is a focus of the federal investigation.
The April searches reached several sites in Minneapolis and nearby cities, including Quality Learning Center on Nicollet Avenue, Baby Halimo Child Care on Cedar Avenue, Metro Learning Center on 13th Street South, Love & Care Childcare on Logan Avenue North, Mini Childcare Center on 25th Avenue South and other providers in Burnsville, Shakopee and St. Paul. Authorities also searched Fabulous Restaurant and Catering in Minneapolis. The Department of Justice described the operation as court-authorized law enforcement activity tied to an ongoing fraud investigation. The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and local law enforcement agencies were involved. State officials said the coordinated operation was aimed at protecting taxpayer dollars and holding bad actors accountable.
The raids came during a wider review of fraud in Minnesota public programs, including the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps low-income families pay for child care. The program sends public money to approved providers for eligible children. Legislative records and local investigations have raised concerns for years about overbilling, weak checks and providers with ties to people later charged in fraud cases. A state House fraud oversight report said childcare fraud allegations first surfaced in 2011 and said later federal cases showed how public programs could be exploited when agencies failed to act quickly on warning signs. The report also said some providers connected to the Feeding Our Future investigation continued to receive child care funds for years after that federal probe became public.
The broader fraud landscape in Minnesota has been shaped by the Feeding Our Future case, the largest known pandemic-related child nutrition fraud case in the country. Federal prosecutors have said dozens of defendants used fake meal counts, false invoices, shell companies and bribes to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from programs meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some later investigations moved beyond food programs and into Medicaid-funded autism services, housing stabilization services and child care subsidies. Prosecutors have brought multiple waves of charges in those cases. In the daycare raids, however, officials have not announced charges against The Original Childcare Center or the other sites searched.
State and federal officials have also differed over how much credit state agencies should receive for the April searches. Gov. Tim Walz said after the raids that state agencies caught and reported fraud concerns, calling that how the system is supposed to work. A state child welfare agency statement said state, county and federal partners worked together to root out fraud. FBI Director Kash Patel publicly pushed back on that framing, saying federal agencies drafted and executed the warrants with federal partners. The dispute added a political edge to an investigation already drawing attention from lawmakers, watchdogs and residents frustrated by repeated fraud cases involving public money.
For families and neighbors near the searched sites, the operation played out in plain view. Agents carried boxes from child care centers into waiting vehicles while marked law enforcement cars blocked parts of streets and parking areas. At The Original Childcare Center on Park Avenue, images from the scene showed agents loading evidence as the federal probe unfolded. Nearby residents and business owners said the raids added to concerns that state oversight may have missed warning signs. Officials have not released the affidavits supporting the search warrants, and many details remain unknown, including what records agents sought and whether investigators believe public money was wrongly paid to any specific searched provider.
The next steps are in the hands of federal investigators and prosecutors. Search warrants allow agents to gather records and evidence, but they do not by themselves prove criminal conduct. Prosecutors could file charges, decline charges or continue reviewing documents for months. State lawmakers are also weighing tighter rules for public programs, including stronger authority to withhold payments, disclose investigations in some cases and increase penalties for fraud involving taxpayer funds. The daycare searches have become part of that debate, with lawmakers asking whether current rules are strong enough to detect risky providers before large payments go out.
The Original Childcare Center remains part of an active federal fraud investigation, but no public charges had been filed against the center as of May 29. The next major milestone will be whether prosecutors seek charges after reviewing records seized in the April searches.
Author note: Last updated May 29, 2026.