12 Charged in $10M San Diego Daycare Fraud

The Justice Department charged 12 people Tuesday with wire fraud and related counts for allegedly running sham home daycare centers in San Diego that collected more than $10 million in government childcare subsidies for children who were rarely or never in attendance.

Prosecutors say the operators billed federally funded childcare assistance programs — money meant to help low-income parents pay for care while they work or go to school — over a period of months or years.

More than 250 law enforcement officers made the arrests early Thursday morning and searched the defendants' San Diego homes, which they had claimed were childcare centers, the Justice Department said.

The Charges

Each of the 12 defendants faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on the wire fraud counts, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors allege Abdulrahman Alawad, 25, took in more than $300,000 in subsidy payments in 2025 alone. Several other defendants allegedly collected more than $1 million each.

The money went to luxury homes, overseas wire transfers and large cash withdrawals, prosecutors say.