The main defendant in Minnesota’s largest state-prosecuted Medicaid fraud case, Abdirashid Ismail Said, is being sought on an arrest warrant after he failed to show up for a pretrial hearing April 7, court records show.
Said, 50, had been previously convicted of Medicaid fraud before he was charged in 2023 with racketeering, perjury, and eight counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who announced the charges in 2023.
Said was “the principal actor” among three defendants accused of illegally reaping nearly $11 million through Said’s “operation of three separate Medicaid-funded home health care agencies,” a news release from Ellison said.
Said’s lawyer, Christopher Grove, declined to comment on his client’s whereabouts, nor on reports that Said may have fled the country in advance of his scheduled April 13 trial.
Judge Juan Hoyos of Hennepin County District Court canceled the trial, forfeited Said’s bond, and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Bill Glahn, a policy fellow with Center of the American Experiment—a Minneapolis-based public policy organization—wrote about Said in a blog post: “And how did he get away? He posted a $150,000 unconditional bond.”
Under that type of bond, Said was not required to surrender his passport. The Epoch Times asked Ellison’s office for comment about circumstances surrounding Said’s bond but received no reply prior to publication time.
Said’s disappearance comes in the midst of ongoing scrutiny of Minnesota’s government aid programs. Ellison and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have defended themselves against accusations that they allowed fraud to fester in the state. On April 15, impeachment hearings against both leaders are set to begin in the Minnesota legislature.
The Justice Department has lodged charges against nearly 100 people in a single Minnesota scandal that could total $300 million. Dozens of defendants have already been sentenced on federal charges for their role with an organization called Feeding Our Future. Instead of providing meals to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers enriched themselves with funds from the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
While federal investigations into many other defrauded government programs continue in Minnesota, Ellison has said his office will continue prosecuting alleged scammers on state charges, like the accusations filed against Said and his associates.
His alleged co-conspirators, Ali Abdirizak Ahmed and Said Awil Ibrahim, were charged in Hennepin County District Court with racketeering and aiding and abetting theft by swindle. Ahmed’s arrest was still being sought on those charges, court records show, while Ibrahim is set for trial on June 8.
Under state and federal laws, Said’s 2022 Medicaid fraud conviction barred him from “working with any Medicaid-funded agency,” Ellison’s news release said.
Nevertheless, investigators found “voluminous” evidence that Said went on to operate three agencies that were supposed to provide personal care services to people with medical needs. The agencies received nearly $11 million in Medicaid “without disclosing his involvement,” the release said.
Investigators also accused Said’s businesses of “routinely bill[ing] for services not provided at all, for more services than documented in employee timesheets,” and for services without proper supervision by a qualified professional.
The alleged crimes occurred between May 2019 and May 2023. The three co-defendants “wrote large checks and transferred funds between each other without any legitimate business purpose,” according to Ellison’s statement.
“Furthermore, during a probation violation hearing related to his prior conviction, Said testified under oath that [he] did not have any ownership, management, employee, or contractor role at any of the agencies,” the release said, resulting in the perjury charge against Said.
Four others were previously charged as a result of the same investigation, Ellison’s office said.
While it’s unclear how many Minnesota fraud suspects may have fled while facing charges, at least one is being sought in a case unrelated to Said’s.
The Justice Department late last year said that at least one defendant, Kaamil Omar Sallah, had escaped to a foreign country.
Sallah, 26 when he was charged, faces federal wire fraud charges in connection with allegations that he submitted fraudulent or inflated billing to a Minnesota housing assistance program.
After being served with a subpoena seeking records, Sallah boarded a flight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and flew to Amsterdam, the Justice Department said.
This article was originally published by The Epoch Times.
