Hearing Exposes Rampant Foreigner Fraud In Ohio
A House Oversight Committee task force held a hearing on Medicaid home-care waiver fraud in Ohio, with Rep. brandon Gill alleging that foreign fraudsters exploit weak oversight to collect large payments from taxpayers. gill described a pattern in which fraudsters identify an elderly person (frequently enough a relative), obtain a doctor’s note approving in-home services, and then work through “home health” businesses-often described as shell companies-that take a cut while Medicaid funds are routed to the perpetrators.
Testimony from journalist Luke Rosiak claimed that he observed fraud in Columbus largely tied to people he described as foreign-born, especially from Somalia and Bhutan, including a Bhutanese family alleged to have received over $350 million in Medicaid funds in Ohio. Ohio’s State Auditor Keith Faber stated Ohio’s Medicaid program has meaningful fraud exposure,citing potentially up to $4.4 billion found in a single-state audit related to ineligible recipients. Following these issues,Gov. mike DeWine paused enrollment for home care and hospice providers while federal and state authorities investigate, and the U.S. Justice Department said it is indeed partnering with Ohio and using data-sharing to improve detection and prosecution.
The article also references a related Minnesota scandal and notes federal charges announced June 4 against Ohio fraudsters accused of using Medicaid money intended for children’s behavioral health services to buy luxury goods, including cars seized by authorities. An FBI director quoted in the piece framed the anti-fraud effort as following the money.
Taxpayers in Ohio have lost an estimated $1.2 billion due to foreign fraudsters, according to testimony from a House Oversight Committee task force on Wednesday. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, called the hearing after Luke Rosiak of the Daily Wire released a series of articles alleging billions of dollars in Medicaid home care fraud in Ohio.
Gill, the chairman of the task force, explained how fraudsters in Ohio operate with little government oversight. According to Gill, they will find an elderly person, often a relative, and get a note from a doctor that says they qualify for in-home health services.
Home care services were designed for the elderly and those with special needs to have someone to take care of them inside their own home. Home care can include medical care, but oftentimes home care “providers” perform basic tasks for their aging relatives — cooking, cleaning, and helping pay bills. This makes it incredibly easy for those wishing to commit fraud.
After receiving the note from a doctor, the fraudster will contract with a “Home Health business,” Gill said, many of which are shell companies. “The business then facilitates Medicaid payments from the taxpayer to the fraudster, while taking a cut off the top.”
Ohio is home to the largest Somalian population in America outside of Minnesota, and the largest Bhutanese population in the world outside of Bhutan. Rosiak, who testified at the hearing, said almost all of the fraud he witnessed in Columbus during his investigation was among “foreign born people,” mostly from Somalia and Bhutan.
Rosiak told the task force about one Bhutanese family, the Adhikari’s, who he says has received over $350 million just from Medicaid in Ohio alone. Therefore, Rosiak claims the Bhutanese family has made around 10% of Bhutan’s GDP by defrauding United States taxpayers.
State authorities seem to validate Rosiak’s findings. Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber gave testimony at the hearing and indicated that there has been significant fraud in the state: “In this year’s single state audit, which is a rigorous, comprehensive financial compliance audit, we identified potentially up to $4.4 billion in fraud-related exposure connected to ineligible recipients in Ohio’s Medicaid program.”
Amid recent findings, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine paused enrollment for home care and hospice providers while the state works with federal authorities to investigate the situation. The Justice Department’s Fraud Division announced that they are partnering with the state of Ohio to prosecute fraud, and the partnership includes a “data sharing agreement to enhance the detection and prosecution of fraud.”
Unlike DeWine, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did not cooperate with the federal government when a similar scandal took place in his state. In December 2025, federal prosecutors discovered that fraudsters, which included many Somalians, in Minnesota had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers through elaborate schemes including fake nonprofits and daycare centers. After President Trump criticized Somali migration in light of the scandal, Walz jumped to defend the Somali community, calling Trump’s words “unprecedented.”
Federal authorities announced June 4 that they charged several Ohio fraudsters who committed Medicaid fraud to fund their lavish lifestyles. Multiple suspects were charged with over 30 counts for stealing funds that were supposed to go to behavioral health services for children. The gang spent approximately 30 million dollars of taxpayer money to buy luxury cars, 14 of which were seized by authorities.
FBI Director Kash Patel put his mission simply in a press conference about the issue: “What is the FBI doing to combat fraud? It’s pretty simple, we follow the money.”
Skye Graham is an intern at The Federalist. She is a senior History major at Hillsdale College and serves as the assistant features editor for the Hillsdale Collegian.
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