DOJ charges 15 defendants in Minnesota social service fraud totaling more than $90 million

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that 15 individuals face criminal charges for allegedly defrauding a range of Minnesota-managed programs, including Medicaid, a federal child nutrition program, and state grant programs supporting child care providers and housing services for people with disabilities.

At the center of the announcement were charges against the owners of two autism clinics — Smart Therapy in Minneapolis and Star Autism in St. Cloud. According to the Washington Examiner, defendants Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf allegedly billed Medicaid more than $46 million for autism services that were either medically unnecessary or never provided, with the clinics ultimately receiving roughly $21 million in reimbursements. Prosecutors alleged the defendants paid parents between $300 and $1,500 per child to enroll their children in treatment programs, then billed Medicaid using providers who never worked at or were no longer employed by the clinics. McDonald described the scheme as "the largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the Department of Justice."

Other charges described in court documents, as reported by CNN, included a defendant accused of falsifying the number of meals served to children in a nutrition program, another accused of inflating staffing numbers in a child care grant program, and owners of rural group homes for people with disabilities who allegedly took more than $1 million in fraudulent Medicaid billings for personal use, including the purchase of seven high-end vehicles. The Washington Examiner also reported that proceeds in the autism clinic case were used to buy luxury vehicles, Rolex watches, jewelry, real estate, and to transfer funds to Kenya. Separately, prosecutors alleged a disabled man who was supposed to receive 24-hour care was found dead after allegedly receiving no actual services while fraudulent Medicaid claims continued to be submitted in his name.