{"id":2523506,"date":"2025-12-20T08:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T13:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/over-9-billion-looted-from-minnesota-medicaid-programs-in-massive-fraud-scheme-feds\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T08:22:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T13:22:00","slug":"over-9-billion-looted-from-minnesota-medicaid-programs-in-massive-fraud-scheme-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/over-9-billion-looted-from-minnesota-medicaid-programs-in-massive-fraud-scheme-feds\/","title":{"rendered":"Over $9 Billion Looted from Minnesota Medicaid Programs in Massive Fraud Scheme: Feds"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fover-9-billion-looted-from-minnesota-medicaid-programs-in-massive-fraud-scheme-feds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2523506&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Federal prosecutors have revealed that Minnesota may have lost billions of dollars to widespread fraud in its Medicaid program.As 2018, up to half of the $18 billion spent on 14 vulnerable Medicaid programs could have been diverted by fraudsters in what has been described as &#8220;staggering, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cotton-nba-should-force-chamath-palihapitiya-to-sell-stake-in-warriors\/\" title=\"Tom Cotton: NBA Should Force Chamath Palihapitiya to Sell Stake in Warriors\">industrial-scale<\/a>&#8221; fraud.Several individuals, including Anthony Waddell Jefferson adn Lester Brown, have been charged wiht submitting millions of dollars in false claims, particularly involving the Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program, which was terminated in 2023 due to rampant fraud. Othre charges involve fraudulent billing in autism programs, with schemes that included kickbacks to parents and billing for undelivered services. The fraud has drawn criticism of state leadership, with calls for greater accountability and investigations ongoing. Minnesota has become a hotspot for what authorities call &#8220;fraud tourism,&#8221; where criminals from other states exploit its Medicaid system, costing taxpayers vastly more than originally projected.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors alleged Thursday that Minnesota may have lost billions of dollars to fraud in its Medicaid program, the latest development in an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n<p>As much as half of the roughly $18 billion Minnesota has spent since 2018 on 14 Medicaid programs particularly vulnerable to abuse may have been siphoned off by fraudsters, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox9.com\/video\/fmc-6paqdw154pxzj1ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to U.S. Assistant Attorney Joe Thompson.<\/p>\n<p>Thompson made the remarks as prosecutors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-mn\/pr\/six-additional-defendants-charged-one-defendant-pleads-guilty-ongoing-fraud-schemes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> additional charges in the ongoing investigation of the &ldquo;staggering, industrial-scale&rdquo; fraud <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/12\/15\/opinion-minnesota-fraud-scandal-shines-light-on-covid-era-spending-levels-and-neglect-dave-bossie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">engulfing<\/a> the state.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The fraud is not small. It isn&rsquo;t isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated,&rdquo; Thompson said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It&rsquo;s a staggering industrial-scale fraud. It&rsquo;s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Among those charged are Anthony Waddell Jefferson and Lester Brown, who are accused of submitting roughly $3.5 million in false claims to the state&rsquo;s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program.<\/p>\n<p>Federal officials allege the two men &mdash; both based in Philadelphia &mdash; set up companies to exploit Minnesota&rsquo;s Medicaid system, committing what Thompson labeled &ldquo;fraud tourism.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Minnesota has become a magnet for fraud, so much so that we have developed a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fraud tourism industry &#038;mdash<\/a>; people coming to our state purely to exploit and defraud its programs,&rdquo; Thompson said.<\/p>\n<p>Additional charges were filed against Hassan Ahmed Hussein and Ahmed Abdirashid Mohamed, who prosecutors say submitted approximately $750,000 in fraudulent HSS claims through their company.<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Department of Human Services <a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/dhs\/media\/news\/?id=1053-711321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">terminated<\/a> the HSS program in October, citing widespread fraud.<\/p>\n<p>The program, originally intended to help elderly individuals and people with disabilities secure and maintain housing, was projected in 2020 to cost taxpayers about $2.6 million annually. By 2024, however, spending had ballooned to roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-mn\/pr\/defendants-charged-first-wave-housing-stabilization-fraud-cases#:~:text=Before%20the%20Program%E2%80%99s,another%20%2461%20million.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$104 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf was charged with wire fraud in connection with the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention Autism program.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors allege Yussuf, the president and CEO of Star Autism Center LLC, and others recruited Somali children by offering kickbacks to parents in exchange for enrolling their children, then falsely billed Medicaid for services that were never delivered.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities say the scheme resulted in more than $6 million in improper reimbursements.<\/p>\n<p>The new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-indicted-judge-aileen-cannon-rejects-request-for-electronics-in-florida-courtroom\/\" title=\"Judge Aileen Cannon denies electronics request in Florida courtroom for indicted Donald Trump.\">charges add<\/a> to a growing list of <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/12\/11\/somalia-minnesota-trump-fraud-scandal-ice-immigration-refugees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fraud cases<\/a> in Minnesota, where federal officials had previously estimated total losses at over <a href=\"https:\/\/kstp.com\/kstp-news\/top-news\/u-s-attorney-says-minnesota-government-fraud-could-exceed-1-billion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$1 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In late October, Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/12\/01\/tim-walz-somali-fraud-minnesota-attracts-criminals-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gov. Tim Walz<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/governor\/newsroom\/press-releases\/?id=1055-711001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> that his administration would audit payments for 14 Medicaid services and pause payments for up to 90 days if anomalies were detected.<\/p>\n<p>The move has done little to quell public outrage, with critics saying the governor is not doing enough, and some even calling for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kttc.com\/2025\/12\/17\/trump-cabinet-member-calls-gov-walz-resign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resignation<\/a> over the scandal.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s news is possibly the most disturbing news we&rsquo;ve had so far in exposing the massive schemes that defrauded Minnesotans,&rdquo; said state Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mnsenaterepublicans.com\/minnesota-exploited-by-fraud-tourism-under-walzs-mounting-failures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> Thursday. &ldquo;Minnesota&rsquo;s fraud problem is indeed Minnesota&rsquo;s fraud problem. If people could easily defraud other states, they wouldn&rsquo;t single out Minnesota.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The mounting failures by Governor Tim Walz to stop fraud is costing taxpayers more every day,&rdquo; Johnson added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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According to U.S. Assistant Attorney Joe Thompson, up to half of the approximately $18 billion spent by Minnesota since 2018 on 14 Medicaid programs prone to abuse may have been stolen by fraudsters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2523507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Michael-Featured-Image-468.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[38348,41631,63701,61924,59193],"class_list":["post-2523506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-federal-investigation","tag-financial-crime","tag-healthcare-fraud","tag-medicaid-fraud","tag-minnesota-crime"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Michael-Featured-Image-468.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2523506"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2523510,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523506\/revisions\/2523510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2523507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2523506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2523506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2523506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}