Investigator Tells All-In Podcast California Tried to Silence Him — Then the DOJ Confirmed His Fraud Findings

On a recent episode of the All-In podcast, independent investigator Nick Shirley told hosts David Sacks, Jason Calacanis and Chamath Palihapitiya that California lawmakers passed a bill targeting his style of reporting after he exposed fraud tied to state-funded immigration services. Shirley said the timing landed hard: he told the panel that on the same day he was discussing the law, federal prosecutors announced charges against a dozen people connected to San Diego daycares he had filmed.

According to Shirley, the law covers what the state calls "immigration support service providers" — a category he says sweeps in nonprofits and healthcare facilities that receive taxpayer funding to serve immigrants, including those in the country illegally. Under the statute, Shirley said, any covered entity can send him a letter barring him from posting footage of them, with a $4,000 fine per violation and exposure to the other side's legal fees if he loses in court.

Shirley told the panel: "I exposed California for all the fraud that they've enabled here inside the state." He said the daycares he filmed in San Diego drew a response from Governor Gavin Newsom's office, and that the law followed. "They only created that after I exposed the fraud," he said.

Shirley said the same day he appeared on the show, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against 12 individuals — all immigrants, he said — tied to $10 million in fraud connected to the daycares he had investigated. He said he is currently suing the state of California over the law.

The exchange points to a familiar dynamic in Sacramento: a state legislature moving to restrict scrutiny of programs it funds, even as state and federal enforcement confirms the underlying fraud claims. California's own prosecutors did the follow-up work Shirley says the law was written to stop him from doing in the first place.

Neither Newsom's office nor the bill's sponsors were quoted in the discussion, and the law's constitutionality has not been ruled on by a court.

Heard on All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg — Nick Shirley: Exposing Government Fraud, Suing California & Taking on the Media (2026-09-18).