A 55-year-old Minnesota woman pleaded not guilty in federal court to the latest case of fraudulent Medicaid billing.
Shamso Hassan Ahmed was one of 15 people charged last week in federal court in what prosecutors say was an autism scheme.
Court records show that Hassan and Hanaan Yusuf billed Minnesota’s Medicaid program for services never provided at two autism centers between November 2019 and December 2024.
Prosecutors say the scheme defrauded the program out of more than $20 million and and that the two gave illegal kickbacks to parents to enroll their children.
Last week, several top U.S. officials were in Minneapolis announcing a “major law enforcement action involving fraud” in the state.
"Today, we are announcing criminal charges against 15 defendants in Minnesota for fraud schemes that targeted over $90 million in taxpayer dollars," said Colin McDonald who is with the U.S Justice Department.
McDonald went onto to say they were going to create a Healthcare Fraud Midwest Strike Force to further their investigations and prosecutions. He also noted that the fraud they are investigating isn't just from the past few years, going back to the COVID pandemic. McDonald says it is ongoing, and called the fraudsters "agnostic," taking advantage of any program they felt was vulnerable.
