Nick Shirley’s New York investigation is his July 10, 2026 video on Medicaid-funded adult day care and home care in Flushing, Queens, where he said his crew uncovered more than $190 million in fraud, a figure that is his own claim. State auditors and federal prosecutors had already flagged the same industry, and on October 20, 2026, federal and state agents searched adult day care centers across the city in a probe Governor Kathy Hochul said covers more than 100 providers.
- Video
- “I Investigated NYC Billion Dollar Fraud Scheme,” July 10, 2026, 53 minutes
- His figure
- Over $190 million in fraud (his claim)
- Where
- Social adult day care centers in Flushing, Queens
- Before the video
- A February 2026 state audit and a $120 million federal case
- After
- Citywide searches of adult day care centers on October 20, 2026
- Also
- Canal Street videos, September 2025 and June 22, 2026
Play “I Investigated NYC Billion Dollar Fraud Scheme” (loads YouTube)
I Investigated NYC Billion Dollar Fraud Scheme · Nick Shirley · July 10, 2026
What Nick Shirley filmed in New York
Nick Shirley’s 53-minute New York video follows his crew through social adult day care centers in Flushing, Medicaid-funded programs that provide personal care and other services in a group setting for adults with chronic illnesses or disabilities. His description says operators use elderly and needy residents in adult day care and personal home care schemes, with taxpayers paying for seniors to play ping pong and do tai chi while enrollees get kickbacks. At one center he cited federal data that he said showed 7,899 registered members and about $12.9 million in Medicaid payments in 2024; an employee denied having that many members and asked him to leave, Shore News Network reported. Staff at another center said competitors offered financial incentives to enroll members, a claim not independently verified. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz appears in the video discussing warning signs of fraud without accusing any center shown. Five days later Shirley told a Senate committee that more than $2 billion had gone to these fraudsters, also his own figure.
New York home care fraud: what the record shows
New York home care fraud was under investigation well before the video, and the official record runs on its own numbers.
| Date | Action | Source |
|---|---|---|
| February 9, 2026 | Two Flushing men charged in an alleged $120 million day care and pharmacy scheme | Justice Department via Gothamist |
| February 19, 2026 | State audit flags $285 million in questionable adult day care payments | State Comptroller |
| June 16, 2026 | Justice Department sues the state over its home care contract | Justice Department |
| June 30, 2026 | Federal funding for the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit suspended | Attorney General’s office |
| October 20, 2026 | FBI and state agents search adult day cares citywide | FOX 5 New York |
The comptroller’s audit found the questionable payments went to centers for dates after managed care plans had dropped them, including $28.5 million to one dropped for cause. At a Flushing center licensed for 323 people, claimed attendance topped capacity on 386 days. Prosecutors in that federal case said one of the men’s centers billed Medicaid for about 1,041 people in a single day in 2022 at a site whose occupancy permit allowed 81, and that seniors were paid kickbacks. The FBI later said Medicaid paid about $2.4 billion for adult day care from January 2019 to October 2024, a total that is not a fraud estimate.
The home care side is the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which lets Medicaid patients hire their own aides. In April 2025 the state replaced roughly 650 payroll agencies with one company, Public Partnerships LLC, a move it pitched as a way to cut costs and fraud; Hochul later claimed more than $1 billion a year in savings. In June 2026 the Justice Department sued the state Health Department and the company, alleging a sham bid and charges above contract limits. Those claims are unproven.
What happened after Nick Shirley’s New York video
After Nick Shirley’s New York video, scrutiny of Flushing grew. The New York Post reported on August 3 that 77 adult day cares within a mile there bill Medicaid more than $100 million a year, about 14 percent of statewide day care spending. Its reporters found empty rooms at several large centers, one of which the paper noted had not been implicated in any crime. On August 12 the Post reported $55,000 in donations to Hochul’s campaign from Flushing day cares.
On October 20, the FBI and state authorities searched centers in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Manhattan. Hochul called it a coordinated, months-long probe into suspected money laundering, kickbacks and improper billing, and said she met Oz beforehand. Two Staten Island operators were arrested, accused of billing for clients who were dead or absent. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said his investigators took part.
Nick Shirley’s Canal Street videos
Nick Shirley’s Canal Street videos confront vendors of counterfeit goods in Lower Manhattan. He posted the first on September 25, 2025. On October 21, 2025, federal agents swept the street; the Department of Homeland Security said nine vendors were detained, and the AP counted 14 arrests including protesters. amNY reported that Shirley had recently filmed several of the same vendors and that, at a protest the next night, he taunted demonstrators and twice charged into the crowd. One man detained in the raid told Courthouse News that Shirley pointed him out to agents, and a federal judge later ordered his release, finding ICE broke its own rules. A causal link between his video and the sweep has not been established. Shirley returned for “I Confronted NYC’s Canal Street Scam Market” on June 22, 2026, a 37-minute video built around the vendors.
Pushback on Nick Shirley’s NYC reporting
Pushback on Nick Shirley’s NYC reporting has come mostly from the people he filmed, while state officials have defended their own record. Center staff denied his membership figures on camera. The state Health Department said in February that New York’s Medicaid oversight is among the strongest in the nation, and Attorney General Letitia James called the June federal funding cut to her fraud unit a political distraction, citing more than $627 million recovered since 2019. On Canal Street, criticism focuses on his methods, from the detained vendor who says Shirley singled him out to amNY’s account of the protest.
Nick Shirley New York FAQ
What did Nick Shirley find in New York?
Nick Shirley filmed Flushing adult day care centers he says bill Medicaid for far more seniors than attend, and claimed more than $190 million in fraud. Staff disputed his figures, and the center he confronted had not been charged when the video posted.
Is Nick Shirley’s $190 million NYC figure confirmed?
No agency has confirmed Nick Shirley’s $190 million NYC figure. Official numbers are separate, such as the $120 million federal case filed in February 2026.
Did the FBI raid adult day cares after Nick Shirley’s NYC video?
Yes, three months after Nick Shirley’s NYC video, the FBI and state agents searched adult day cares across the city on October 20, 2026. Hochul described it as the result of a months-long probe.
What happened on Canal Street after Nick Shirley’s videos?
Federal agents swept Canal Street on October 21, 2025, less than a month after Nick Shirley’s first video there, detaining at least nine vendors. A causal link to his video has not been established.
Did Nick Shirley testify about New York home care fraud?
Yes, Nick Shirley described New York City’s adult day cares to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 15, 2026, five days after the video.
Sources
- YouTube, Nick Shirley: I Investigated NYC Billion Dollar Fraud Scheme, July 10, 2026
- YouTube, Nick Shirley: I Confronted NYC’s Canal Street Scam Market, June 22, 2026
- YouTube, Nick Shirley: I Confronted Dangerous Migrant Scammers in NYC, Canal Street, September 25, 2025
- New York State Comptroller: DiNapoli: Stronger Oversight Needed for Social Adult Day Care Programs, February 19, 2026
- New York State Comptroller: Statement on Multi-Agency Operation on Adult Day Care Fraud, October 21, 2026
- U.S. Department of Justice: Department of Justice Files Suit to Stop Ongoing Medicaid Fraud Related to New York’s $10 Billion Home Care Program, June 16, 2026
- Office of the New York Attorney General: Attorney General James Condemns Trump Administration for Slashing New York’s Resources to Fight Medicaid Fraud, June 30, 2026
- U.S. Government Publishing Office: Exposing Fraud in America, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, July 15, 2026
- Gothamist: Feds say Flushing men paid seniors cash to join day cares, then billed $120M, February 10, 2026
- Shore News Network: New York City’s Federal Adult Daycare Fraud Complex Exposed in Latest Nick Shirley Investigation, July 11, 2026
- FOX 5 New York: FBI raids NYC adult care centers in $2.4B Medicaid fraud probe: What we know, October 21, 2026
- WABC: At least 2 arrests made in investigation into suspected Medicaid fraud in New York City, October 21, 2026
- New York Post: Inside New York’s medical fraud capital where often empty senior centers bill Medicaid $100M-a-year for patients, August 3, 2026
- New York Post: Owner of suspiciously vacant adult daycare billed Medicaid $32M while donating to Kathy Hochul, other Dems, August 12, 2026
- Columbia News Service: New York Consolidated Its Home Care Program. Some Patients Are Paying The Price, October 26, 2026
- amNY: Hundreds march, two arrested, in Lower Manhattan protesting Canal Street ICE raid, October 23, 2025
- Associated Press via WGN: Feds say 14 arrested during chaotic immigration sweep that sparked protests on NYC’s Canal Street, October 22, 2025
- Courthouse News Service: Judge orders release of NYC migrant who blames YouTuber Nick Shirley for ICE arrest, March 18, 2026
Last updated October 29, 2026