Federal prosecutors in Minnesota unveiled new charges against six individuals who are accused of defrauding state government programs that are funded by Medicaid. The new charges are the latest development in a fraud saga that has overwhelmed the state.
Since 2022, dozens of individuals have been charged for their roles in defrauding various government programs in Minnesota. In recent weeks, the fraud has become a national story with much of the coverage focusing on the Somali community.
Of all the individuals who have been charged thus far, 90% of them are Somali. Of the six people charged Thursday, four of them are Somali.
One of them, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, allegedly used a business called Star Autism Center, LLC to defraud the Early Intensive Development and Behaviorial Intervention (EIDBI) benefit. The EIDBI benefit is a state program which reimburses businesses for providing services to children with autism.
According to the charges, Yussuf created Star Autism in 2020 and used the LLC to defraud the EIDBI program into 2024. He and his accomplices reportedly recruited Somali children to receive autism services through Star Autism and submitted Medicaid reimbursement claims to the EIDBI program for services they allegedly provided.
However, charges say “many of these claims were fraudulently inflated, were billed without providers’ knowledge, and were for services that were not actually provided.”
Further, Star Autism allegedly employed “behavioral technicians” who were described in the charges as “18- or 19-year-old relatives, with no formal education beyond high school and no training or certifications related to the treatment of autism.”
Star Autism reportedly paid kickbacks to families of the children who were signed up to receive autism services via the LLC.
In total, federal authorities say Star Autism fraudulently obtained over $6 million of EIDBI reimbursement funds. The proceeds were reportedly shared amongst those involved with Star Autism, and over $200,000 was allegedly sent to Kenya.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota also announced that Asha Farhan Hassan pleaded guilty Thursday morning in her EIDBI case which was charged in September.
New fraud charges connected to housing assistance program
Two other individuals facing charges are Anthony Waddell Jefferson and Lester Brown. According to the charges against Jefferson and Brown, the pair defrauded the now-defunct Minnesota Housing Stability Services (HSS) program.
HSS was a housing assistance program funded by Medicaid but operated by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). The program gave reimbursements to businesses that helped “people with disabilities, including mental illness and substance use disorder, and seniors find and keep housing.”
The housing assistance program was shut down in August after DHS determined HSS had been pillaged by fraudsters. Claims paid out by the program had soared from roughly $20 million in 2021 to over $100 million in 2024.
Charges against Jefferson and Brown say the pair lived in Pennsylvania and were contacted by another person in 2021 who said the HSS program was a good way to make money.
The pair reportedly became HSS providers despite “living on the other side of the country and having no network in or connections to Minnesota or its communities. Ultimately, their sole connection to Minnesota was their fraudulent participation in the [HSS] program.”
Charges say Jefferson and Brown each registered a company in Minnesota and filed to have that company participate in the HSS program. Federal prosecutors say Jefferson and Brown traveled to Minnesota, recruited people to receive HSS benefits via their companies, and billed the HSS program for those services.
“However, in furtherance of the scheme, Jefferson, Brown, and their conspirators caused the submission of false claims information that significantly overrepresented the hours of services they provided,” said the charges. “In so doing, Jefferson and Brown received HSS Program funds that substantially exceeded the services they provided.”
The pair’s two companies reportedly submitted roughly $3.5 million worth of claims for HSS reimbursement.
Another pair, Hassan Ahmed Hussein and Ahmed Abdirashid Mohamed, are also being charged in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud HSS. The men are 28-years-old and 27-years-old, respectively.
According to authorities, the two men ran a company called Pristine Health, LLC in St. Paul and filed paperwork to participate in the HSS program as a provider. Like others charged in HSS fraud, Hussein and Mohamed reportedly submitted false reimbursement claims.
“Hussein and Mohamed claimed to service nearly 100 different beneficiaries through Pristine and for such services claimed to be entitled to about $750,000,” said a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “But in reality, the defendants’ operations at Pristine provided only a fraction of their claimed total.”
The pair reportedly used the fraudulent proceeds to travel to London, Australia, and several locations in the Middle East.
Another individual, Kaamil Omar Sallah, has also been charged for allegedly defrauding the HSS program. Sallah, a 26-year-old, reportedly ran a scheme similar to others who have been accused of defrauding the HSS program.
In Sallah’s case, he allegedly ran a company called SafeLodgings, submitted fraudulent bills to the HSS program, received almost $1.3 million in proceeds, and fled the country.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
