The Justice Department on Thursday announced criminal charges against 15 defendants in a sweeping Minnesota Medicaid fraud crackdown, as the founder of the “Feeding Our Future” child nutrition scheme received a 41-and-a-half-year prison sentence and one suspect jumped from a four-story building to escape FBI agents.
Prosecutors allege the 15 defendants collectively perpetrated more than $90 million in fraudulent claims across multiple state-funded assistance programs, including autism treatment services, housing stabilization programs, and child care reimbursements.
FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia announced at a Minneapolis news conference Thursday that one suspect fled by leaping from a fourth-story balcony during an FBI raid. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed hours later that the suspect, Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar, 32, of Roseville, Minnesota, had been apprehended.
“After today’s interagency press conference announcing 15 public healthcare fraud indictments in Minnesota, the below subject who fled when FBI executed today’s raid, Muhammad Omar, has now been arrested,” Patel wrote on X. “Subject was located arrested within 2 hours.”
Omar and co-defendant Ibrahim Bashir Abdi, 25, of Minneapolis, are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud. Federal prosecutors allege the two ran fake billing schemes through two home health care companies, submitting $3.3 million in fraudulent Housing Stabilization Services claims to Minnesota Medicaid, of which approximately $3.2 million was paid.
The largest single charge in Thursday’s takedown targets Shamso Ahmed Hassan, 55, of Brooklyn Park, and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, 25, of Brooklyn Park, who face a combined alleged fraud of $46.6 million involving a fake autism services scheme. Prosecutors say approximately $21.2 million of those fraudulent claims was actually paid.
Charles Wayne Healey, 61, and Katherin Suzan Larsen-Guthmiller, 66, both of Blue Earth, face charges tied to an alleged $22.7 million Individualized Home Supports Medicaid scheme. Federal prosecutors allege the two acquired more than 20 separate residential properties while concealing ownership from Medicaid authorities, then billed for services never provided.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a direct warning Thursday.
“Medicaid dollars are meant to support vulnerable Americans, not bankroll luxury cars and real estate empires for fraudulent providers who exploit people with disabilities,” Oz said. “These prosecutions put Medicaid fraudsters on notice: the gravy train is over. We will cut you off, shut you down, and lock you up.”
Vice President JD Vance echoed the warning, calling the crackdown among the largest Medicaid fraud takedowns in Minnesota history and the largest autism fraud case ever charged by federal prosecutors.
“Our message is simple: if you’re committing fraud, we will find you, and we won’t rest until justice is served,” Vance wrote on X.
Separately Thursday, Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, was sentenced to 41 years and six months in federal prison. Prosecutors had called Bock the ringleader of the pandemic-era child nutrition fraud that became one of the largest COVID-relief fraud cases in U.S. history, totaling approximately $250 million in stolen federal funds.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-M) used Thursday’s announcement to publicly blame Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, accusing both of enabling the Feeding Our Future scheme during its operation.
The charges announced Thursday span conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The alleged schemes involved claims submitted to several Minnesota assistance programs.
