The federal government brought criminal charges Thursday against 15 people who are accused of defrauding government programs in Minnesota. Those indictments are the most recent charges in Minnesota’s ongoing fraud saga.
Among the cases being charged is what U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called “the largest autism fraud bust in American history.”
That case involves Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf of Brooklyn Park.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Hassan and Yusuf were indicted “in connection with a $46.6 million scheme to defraud Minnesota Medicaid’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) Program, of which approximately $21.2 million was paid.”
The EIDBI program is one of several state-run, Medicaid-funded programs that Minnesota has designated as being at “high-risk” for fraud. Federal prosecutors have previously filed charges against individuals for allegedly defrauding the autism services program.
In a summary of the case against Hassan and Yusuf, the Justice Department wrote that Hassan was a shareholder of a pair of autism centers called Star Autism Center and Smart Therapy Center. Meanwhile, Yusuf reportedly worked for Smart Therapy Center.
The DOJ said Hassan and Yusuf “paid kickbacks to families to incentivize them to send their children to Smart Therapy Center and Star Autism Center so that those centers could bill for EIDBI services in their children’s names. In fact, both Centers billed Medicaid for services that were not rendered or were not reimbursable by Medicaid.”
Indictments related to Housing Stabilization Services
Eight of the 15 indictments that were announced on Thursday were related to the now-shuttered Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program which paid businesses for helping vulnerable populations keep and find housing.
HSS was another state program that was deemed to be at “high-risk” for fraud. Last year, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) shut down HSS after determining the program was rampant with fraud.
Among the newly-indicted parties is Sharmaine Meadows of Lake Elmo. According to the DOJ, Meadows has been charged “in connection with a scheme to submit over $4.3 million in fraudulent claims to [HSS], of which nearly $3.7 million was paid.”
Meadows allegedly operated a business called Cradle of Love and “caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Minnesota Medicaid for HSS services.”
Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar of Roseville and Ibrahim Bashir Abdi of Minneapolis are also among the indicted. The pair were charged “in connection with a scheme to submit $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to [HSS], of which approximately $3.2 million was paid.”
Omar was briefly on the run from the law Thursday after reportedly leaping from a fourth-story balcony in order to flee arrest. He has since been apprehended.
Another pair, Mustafa Dayib and Abdulbasit Ibrahim of Minneapolis, are also charged with HSS fraud. The pair allegedly operated a business that submitted false claims to HSS. The Justice Department said, “for these false and fraudulent claims, [Dayib and Ibrahim] were paid approximately $975,000.”
Earlier this year, two Pennsylvania men pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud the HSS program. Then-federal prosecutor Joe Thompson referred to that case as an example of “fraud tourism” where people travel to Minnesota to commit fraud.
Among Thursday’s newly-indicted parties are three more Pennsylvania residents.
One of the Pennsylvania suspects is Deborah Hodges of Philadelphia. She was charged “in connection with a scheme to submit $5.3 million in fraudulent claims to [HSS], of which approximately $5.2 million was paid.”
Hodges allegedly used an organization called House of Heroes to “bill for in-person services that were never provided. In one egregious example, she billed Medicaid for in-person services provided while the Medicaid recipient was at an in-patient drug treatment program and falsified case notes to justify the claim.”
The other two Pennsylvania suspects are Cynthia Allen and Candice Langley, both of whom are from Philadelphia. The two women allegedly set up separate companies, traveled to Minnesota to enroll in HSS, and falsified claims submitted for reimbursement.
According to the Justice Department, approximately $3.5 million was paid out to Allen and Langley collectively.
More fraud charges connected to ‘high-risk’ programs
Charles Wayne Healey and Katherin Suzan Larsen-Guthmiller of Blue Earth were also among Thursday’s new charges. Authorities say the pair operated an organization called Healey Homes and received $22.7 million from Individualized Home Supports (IHS), another “high-risk” program.
“IHS services are intended to support recipients living in their own homes and are explicitly disallowed in provider-controlled settings,” the DOJ wrote. “Despite their knowledge of this requirement, Healey and Larsen-Guthmiller owned and controlled the residences where they were purportedly providing services to Medicaid recipients.”
“[Healey and Larsen-Guthmiller] charged recipients below-market rent in exchange for agreeing to be used to bill Minnesota Medicaid,” the Justice Department added.
The remaining suspects from Thursday’s indictments include Ahmed Kadar of Rosemount, Jillaine Ann Mertens of Hamel, and Fahima Mahamud of Minneapolis.
Kadar was charged in connection to an alleged scheme involving Integrated Community Services (ICS), another “high-risk” state program. Meanwhile, Mertens was charged “in connection with a scheme to submit fraudulent claims” to a state agency for which “she was paid approximately $425,000.”
Finally, Mahamud was charged “in connection with two schemes that resulted in the theft of $5,480,329 in Federal funds.”
According to the DOJ, one of the schemes involved Mahamud’s company receiving federal Child Nutrition Program funds via Feeding Our Future, a defunct nonprofit at the center of the infamous $250 million food fraud scheme that was uncovered in 2022.
Additionally, federal authorities say Mahamud’s company allegedly “submitted claims to the federally funded Child Care Assistance Program” and “received approximately $4.6 million to which it was not entitled.”
At a Thursday press conference where all 15 indictments were announced, a senior DOJ official said “this is not the end of our work in Minnesota, this is not the end of the beginning of our work in Minnesota, this is the beginning of our work in Minnesota.”
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.
