It was billed as “Bankruptcy to Multimillions in 5 Years.”
In YouTube videos, Cameroonian immigrant Arnold Kubei sips Champagne and stands inside his luxury home before touting his rise from bankruptcy to wealth and inviting others to pay him thousands to learn how to do the same in Minnesota’s home care industry.
Then state officials suspended his companies as they began investigating allegations of fraud.
Now, Alpha News has learned the staggering amount of taxpayer-funded payments his two companies received before the money was cut off: $36.2 million.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) confirmed that Kubei’s two companies — Metro Care Human Services and Home Sweet Home of Minnesota — received approximately $28.7 million and $7.5 million, respectively, in Medicaid and other state-administered payments.
State investigates allegations of fraud
Following a June hearing, an administrative law judge determined that clients of Kubei’s companies faced an “imminent risk of harm” and recommended that the emergency suspensions remain in place. The DHS commissioner accepted the recommendation.
The decision leaves both Metro Care Human Services and Home Sweet Home of Minnesota unable to operate.
As Alpha News previously reported, the suspensions were first issued in April after investigators found that clients allegedly were not receiving services required under their support plans, including medication assistance, with at least one case resulting in hospitalization.
The orders also cited pending administrative investigations related to alleged fraud against Minnesota’s Medicaid program.
In information provided to Alpha News, DHS explained that both state and federal law require the department to suspend Medicaid payments once it determines there is a “credible allegation of fraud.”
From bankruptcy to multimillions
Long before state investigators came calling, Kubei built a public brand around one of entrepreneurship’s most familiar narratives: overcoming adversity.
After arriving in the United States from Cameroon as an asylum seeker in 2007, Kubei experimented with several businesses before filing for bankruptcy around 2014, according to a profile published by Sahan Journal.
He eventually entered Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded healthcare system, launching Metro Care Human Services before expanding into Home Sweet Home of Minnesota, which purchases and converts homes into assisted-living facilities.
By 2022, the businesses were generating millions in annual revenue. And before long, Kubei was packaging his rags-to-riches story for YouTube.
On the YouTube channel “Immigrant Money” — where the opening jingle proclaims, “Immigrant money, immigrant money. I came from overseas and now I got the money” — viewers are greeted with scenes of Kubei sipping Champagne in a tuxedo, walking through his luxury home, and explaining how he went from bankruptcy to wealth.
In a promotional video, Immigrant Money host Stephen Ngang Ngang introduces Kubei by saying he “sits down to talk to us about his fortune, how he does it, and how you can do it, too.”
The videos featuring Kubei are no longer publicly available on the Immigrant Money channel. They were made private after Alpha News first reported on them in May.
One video, titled “How to Start a Health Care Company in Minnesota,” featured him teaching aspiring entrepreneurs how to enter Minnesota’s home care industry.
“If I’m going to start the program from top to bottom, I’m going to charge you ten thousand dollars,” Kubei says in the video. “It’s ten to fifteen thousand dollars, get the license where it needs to be.”
In another video, titled “The 2024 Guide to Minnesota Healthcare Companies,” Kubei boasts about the rapid expansion of his operation.
“When we first talked the last time it was about 40 beds at the time but now we’re talking about 91 beds,” he says.
Throughout the interviews, Kubei repeatedly encourages viewers to pay for his consulting services and business coaching.
“I urge you to come to my summit for me to teach you how these things are supposed to be done,” he says. “I figured it out.”
Kubei’s attorney declines comment
Alpha News reached out to Kubei for comment on both its previous reporting and this article but did not receive a response. An attorney who identified himself as Kubei’s legal counsel later contacted Alpha News but declined to comment.
Although Kubei did not respond to Alpha News, he addressed the allegations in an interview with the Star Tribune last month.
“I have worked hard and I deserve to drink the Champagne,” Kubei said of the video. He added that people should instead focus on “how many lives have I saved since I started doing this work,” the Star Tribune reported.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
