DOJ charges 15 in 'shocking' $90M Minnesota fraud schemes; Feeding Our Future 'ringleader' sentenced

Federal prosecutors on Thursday identified the defendants charged in Minnesota’s sweeping Medicaid and benefits fraud crackdown, accusing operators of autism centers, housing assistance companies and child care programs of collectively stealing tens of millions of taxpayer dollars through fraudulent reimbursement schemes.

The charges span multiple Minnesota assistance programs and include allegations of health care fraud, money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prosecutors allege the schemes involved fake autism service claims, inflated housing support reimbursements and fraudulent child care payments, with intended losses totaling more than $90 million.

Shamso Ahmed Hassan, 55, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, 25, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., false statements related to health care matters and money laundering in connection with an alleged $46.6 million autism services fraud scheme, of which prosecutors say approximately $21.2 million was paid.

Charles Wayne Healey, 61, and Katherin Suzan Larsen-Guthmiller, 66, both of Blue Earth, Minnesota, were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering tied to an alleged $22.7 million Medicaid reimbursement scheme involving Individualized Home Supports services.

Deborah Hodges, 59, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud in connection with an alleged $5.3 million Housing Stabilization Services fraud scheme, of which approximately $5.2 million was paid.

Ahmed Othman Kadar, 22, of Rosemount, Minnesota, was charged with three counts of health care fraud and two counts of money laundering tied to an alleged $1.4 million Integrated Community Supports fraud scheme.

Sharmaine Meadows, 45, of Lake Elmo, Minnesota, was charged with three counts of health care fraud involving alleged fraudulent Housing Stabilization Services claims totaling more than $4.3 million, of which nearly $3.7 million was paid.

Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar, 32, of Roseville, Minnesota, and Ibrahim Bashir Abdi, 25, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud tied to an alleged $3.3 million Housing Stabilization Services fraud scheme, of which approximately $3.2 million was paid.

Jillaine Ann Mertens, 42, of Hamel, Minnesota, was charged with wire fraud in connection with alleged fraudulent child care reimbursement claims totaling approximately $425,000.

Cynthia Allen, 62, and Candice Langley, 46, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were charged with health care fraud conspiracy involving alleged inflated and falsified Housing Stabilization Services claims totaling approximately $3.5 million paid by Minnesota Medicaid.

Mustafa Dayib, 22, and Abdulbasit Ibrahim, 22, both of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were charged with health care fraud conspiracy tied to alleged false Housing Stabilization Services claims totaling approximately $975,000.

Fahima Mahamud, 50, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in connection with alleged Feeding Our Future and child care assistance fraud schemes totaling approximately $5.48 million.

We could do: Find out more about the charges filed by the DOJ.

Vice President JD Vance issued a blunt warning to fraudsters Thursday after federal authorities announced sweeping criminal charges tied to Minnesota Medicaid programs.

“Today, the task force and the DOJ announced a massive take down of two of the largest Medicaid fraud cases in Minnesota state history, as well as the largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the federal government,” Vance said in a message on X. “Our message is simple: if you’re committing fraud, we will find you, and we won’t rest until justice is served.”

The Justice Department announced charges against 15 defendants accused of participating in multiple fraud schemes involving autism treatment services, housing support and child care programs, with prosecutors alleging more than $90 million in intended losses tied to taxpayer-funded assistance programs in Minnesota.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison of helping enable the massive "Feeding Our Future" fraud scheme during an appearance Thursday on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” guest-hosted by Kayleigh McEnany.

“I want to see Keith Ellison and Tim Walz both held accountable for what they did here,” the Missouri Republican said while discussing the Justice Department’s expanding fraud crackdown in Minnesota. Hawley accused Walz of covering up fraud allegations and claimed Ellison accepted campaign contributions from individuals connected to the scandal.

Hawley referenced reports that Feeding Our Future representatives met with Ellison and asked for help dealing with investigators.

“He agreed to help them,” Hawley said. “And then just a few days later, he took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. All of this is public. It’s been reported.”

The senator also pointed to whistleblower allegations raised in Minnesota in 2019 claiming some fraud proceeds could have been funneled overseas to terrorist-linked organizations.

Hawley said whistleblowers approached Ellison’s office with concerns but “Ellison had no interest,” adding that federal investigators should continue examining the scandal and any potential state-level involvement.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan accused Minnesota officials of restarting the “Feeding Our Future” program despite fraud concerns because of political pressure tied to the state’s Somali-American voting bloc during an appearance Thursday on FOX Business’ “The Bottom Line.”

“We know that program was stopped when some of the folks there in the Minnesota state government said, ‘Hey, there's problems here. They've got money just flying out the door, something's going on here,’” Jordan said. “It was stopped, but it was restarted because of the political implications, because the governor and the attorney general said, ‘Oh, this is an important voting block. The Somali American population there in Minnesota votes Democrat.’”

Jordan continued, saying officials succumbed to political pressure and restarted the program “for political reasons.”

“Here's how bad that program was. They said this was during Covid. Kids were in school. This is a program to give meals to children. The only problem was there were no kids and there were no meals,” he said. “They were just stuffing the money in their pocket. $250 million.”

Jordan also praised the Trump administration and the Justice Department for pursuing prosecutions tied to Feeding Our Future and the broader Minnesota Medicaid fraud investigations announced Thursday, calling the crackdown a major step toward accountability for fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced Thursday evening that Minnesota Medicaid fraud suspect Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar has been taken into custody after previously fleeing from federal authorities during a sweeping healthcare fraud crackdown.

“After today’s interagency press conference announcing 15 public healthcare fraud indictments in Minnesota, the below subject who was on the run - Muhammad Omar - has now been arrested,” Patel said on X. “He is charged with healthcare fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349, 18 U.S.C. § 1347) involving a Housing Stabilization Services company - with fraudulent claims for services not provided and diverting the proceeds for personal benefit.”

Omar had been accused of participating in an alleged fraud operation connected to Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program, which provides housing-related support for Medicaid recipients. Prosecutors allege fraudulent reimbursement claims were submitted for services that were either never performed or overstated, with proceeds diverted for personal use.

Earlier Thursday, newly released video showed Omar running from federal agents during an attempted apprehension before stumbling and appearing to limp away from the scene. Federal prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and multiple counts of healthcare fraud connected to an alleged scheme involving roughly $3.3 million in claims submitted through two Minnesota home healthcare companies.

As federal authorities continue to crack down on welfare fraud, the latest Fox News survey finds voters are concerned about program abuse, but still also want to protect access for legitimate recipients.

The survey was conducted before the Department of Justice announced charges against 15 defendants on Thursday in the ongoing Minnesota welfare fraud investigations, one of multiple inquiries into welfare abuse across the country.

A majority of registered voters, 71%, believe fraud in government welfare and social service programs is extremely or very common, and nearly half, 45%, think it has increased over the past two years. Just 19% say decreased and 35% believe it has stayed the same.

Yet when weighing enforcement against access, voters prioritize eligible recipients: 56% say ensuring benefits for eligible people should be the higher priority, even if some fraud occurs, while 43% prioritize fraud prevention, even if some eligible people lose benefits.

Find out more about how voters feel about fraud in government.

This is an excerpt from Fox News Digital’s Victoria Balara.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Thursday the Trump administration and congressional investigators are “finally sending a message to fraudsters” following the Justice Department’s sweeping Minnesota Medicaid fraud crackdown.

Speaking on Fox News’ “The Story,” the Kentucky Republican pointed to recent convictions and prosecutions tied to Minnesota fraud schemes, including the sentencing of Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock, while praising what he described as a renewed focus on accountability under President Donald Trump.

“We're finally sending a message to the fraudsters,” Comer said. “If you defraud the American taxpayer, you're going to be held accountable.”

Comer also said his committee’s investigation into Minnesota fraud allegations found that Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of problems raised by whistleblowers but failed to act. He credited Vice President JD Vance, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department with intensifying efforts to pursue fraud tied to taxpayer-funded programs.

Federal prosecutors say a vulnerable Minnesota Medicaid recipient was found dead after providers allegedly billed the government for care services the individual never received.

The allegation was revealed Thursday as the Justice Department announced charges tied to what officials described as a sweeping Medicaid fraud crackdown involving more than $90 million in alleged fraudulent claims across Minnesota assistance programs.

According to prosecutors, one defendant was charged in connection with a $1.4 million fraud scheme involving Minnesota’s Integrated Community Supports program, which helps vulnerable individuals live independently outside institutional settings. Authorities allege the defendant billed Medicaid for services that were not provided as represented, including for recipients requiring 24-hour care.

“The defendant in the prosecution announced today submitted claims for vulnerable recipients who required 24-hour care, one of whom was found deceased a day after being billed for services he did not receive,” the Justice Department said.

Federal officials said Minnesota’s Integrated Community Supports program grew from roughly $4.2 million in payouts when it launched in 2021 to more than $183 million in 2025, with more than $460 million paid out overall during that span.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Thursday it should be easier to denaturalize immigrants involved in welfare fraud as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on abuse within taxpayer-funded programs.

“It should be far easier to denaturalize people, including for welfare fraud, including for criminal activity,” Miller said. “It should be far easier to terminate immigration benefits for individuals who are on the public dole, who are on public assistance, who are receiving public benefits, and then general immigration policy should focus on admitting those who we know from history and experience and common sense are going to be able to be fully contributing members of American society.”

Miller’s remarks came hours after the Justice Department announced charges against 15 defendants accused of participating in Minnesota Medicaid fraud schemes involving more than $90 million in alleged fraudulent claims tied to autism services, housing support and child care programs.

He also said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is re-vetting individuals admitted under the Biden administration “to determine who should have never been admitted in the first place so they can be sent home,” while arguing Congress should codify and expand President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

A top Justice Department official overseeing the federal government’s fraud crackdown accused Minnesota leaders Thursday of being “asleep at the wheel” as taxpayer-funded fraud schemes ballooned across the state.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald told Fox News after the DOJ’s Minnesota fraud press conference that one Medicaid-linked program grew from roughly $600,000 annually to about $430 million in taxpayer payouts within five years — something he said could not have happened without major failures at the state level.

“It is obvious that Minnesota state officials were asleep at the wheel on this problem for many years,” McDonald said. “That doesn't happen without ignorance, without lack of oversight. It doesn't happen without state officials not doing their job as the front line on the battle against fraud.”

McDonald said the Minnesota cases reflect a much larger nationwide problem, citing “conservative estimates” showing roughly $230 billion is stolen from American taxpayers every year through fraud involving government-funded programs. He added the DOJ has announced more than 450 fraud enforcement actions since April 1.

Newly released video showed the dramatic escape of a fugitive wanted for $3.3 million in Medicaid fraud as he fled from federal authorities.

Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar, 32, was spotted on video running away from federal agents before seemingly falling on the pavement and hopping away on one foot.

Omar is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud, according to officials.

The charges come after authorities uncovered a scheme to submit $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to the Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) Program of Minnesota Medicaid, of which roughly $3.2 million was paid.

As alleged in the indictment, Omar co-owned and operated North Home Health Care LLC (NHHC) and personally owned South Home Health Care LLC (SHHC).

Omar, through NHHC and SHHC, is accused of submitting claims to the HSS Program for services that they did not provide and for additional services that were not provided to Medicaid recipients, according to authorities.

He then allegedly created records falsifying the services that they claimed to have provided to Medicaid recipients and provided those records to insurers to justify their fraudulent claims.

Fox News Congressional correspondent Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

The Justice Department said Thursday that its sweeping Minnesota Medicaid fraud crackdown is only “the tip of the iceberg” as federal authorities unveiled criminal charges against 15 defendants accused of stealing more than $90 million from taxpayer-funded programs intended to help vulnerable Americans.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the defendants allegedly “ripped off the American taxpayer” while exploiting programs meant to serve children with autism, disabled adults and low-income families.

“The DOJ Fraud Division, along with the White House’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, will dismantle illegal schemes from coast-to-coast, just as they did today in Minnesota,” Blanche said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Federal officials also announced a major expansion of the DOJ Health Care Fraud Section, including 15 new prosecutors who will be deployed across the country to combat Medicaid fraud.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said Minnesota exposed “a significant increase in Medicaid fraud across the country,” while FBI Director Kash Patel called the indictments “a massive moment” in the administration’s anti-fraud push.

A woman allegedly tied to Minnesota's massive "Feeding Our Future" scandal has been charged in a daycare fraud scheme after being featured in a viral video by influencer Nick Shirley, authorities said.

She is accused of pocketing millions of dollars meant for children's meals.

Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents.

Earlier this year, Mahamud was indicted for her alleged role in the initial $250 million "Feeding Our Future" scheme. Prosecutors allege she enrolled Future Leaders Early Learning — a Minneapolis daycare where she served as CEO — into the federal child nutrition program, falsely claiming to serve thousands of meals at her childcare center.

Find out more about what the daycare owner is accused of.

This is an excerpt from a story by Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is escalating his battle against government waste, accusing Minnesota’s top Democratic leaders of enabling massive fraud schemes and vowing new reforms alongside the Trump administration to stop taxpayer dollars from flowing to criminals.

“The Trump Administration is taking action to hold accountable criminals who are defrauding the American people and stealing from our nation’s most vulnerable,” Comer said. “Our investigation into rampant fraud in Minnesota revealed that Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison were aware of widespread fraud in social service programs, lied about their knowledge of the fraud, and retaliated against employees who dared to raise concerns.

“Instead of protecting vulnerable Americans, they handed over billions in taxpayer dollars to fraudsters and threw their own state employees under the bus,” he added.

Comer said the American people demand the theft of fraud ceases, noting that the House Oversight Committee has put forward legislation to address fraud in federal programs by preventing it before it happens.

“I’ve introduced the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act, which contains sweeping reforms that will stop fraudulent payments before they go out the door to ensure critical taxpayer-funded programs work as intended,” he said. “Alongside the Trump Administration, the Oversight Committee will continue to fulfill its responsibility to crack down on fraud and hold those who steal taxpayer dollars accountable.”

A top Justice Department fraud official said federal investigators would not be surprised if Minnesota fraud losses ultimately meet or exceed a previously cited $9 billion estimate.

“The fraud is enormous,” Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, was asked about former U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson’s estimate that fraud in Minnesota could total $9 billion across more than a dozen programs.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that number is accurate or even small.

”But today, the collection of [15] cases reaches 90 million in intended loss from the from the pockets of the taxpayer."

McDonald stressed that prosecutors are focused first on individual defendants and specific cases, not a final statewide price tag.

"I don't have the exact number, because what I do is I look at individual people committing individual crimes," he continued. "And at the end of all of our work, we'll tally it all up and we'll tell you exactly how much was stolen from the American people.

"We're focused on individual defendants."

Federal officials said they are expanding the Midwest Health Care Fraud Strike Force into Minnesota and adding a new Medicaid fraud strike force with 15 prosecutors who can be deployed nationwide.

“This is not the end of the beginning,” McDonald concluded at Thursday's news conference. “This is the beginning.”

Federal officials announced what they called the largest autism fraud case in Department of Justice history Tuesday as part of a sweeping Minnesota crackdown that includes charges against 15 defendants accused of targeting more than $90 million in taxpayer funds.

“Today’s arrests represent the largest autism fraud bust in American history,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “This was not a paperwork error. It was not a technical violation. This was organized theft.”

Officials said the alleged schemes included fraudulent autism diagnoses, kickbacks to parents, billing for services that were never provided and exploiting children as billing opportunities.

Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, said one autism program that cost taxpayers $600,000 six years ago had skyrocketed to more than $400 million, adding: “That number is not driven by supply and demand. It is not driven by healthcare or charity. It is fraud.”

The Department of Justice announced criminal charges against 15 defendants in Minnesota on Thursday, alleging schemes that targeted more than $90 million in taxpayer funds across state-managed Medicaid programs.

Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, said the cases involve seven Minnesota-run Medicaid programs that prosecutors say were “systematically pilfered by fraudsters” who treated taxpayer-funded services as “their personal piggy bank.”

“Let me be clear upfront about something: This is not the end of our work in Minnesota," McDonald said. "This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota. The fraud here in Minnesota is shocking.”

McDonald pointed to Minnesota’s housing stabilization services program, which was designed to help homeless residents find and keep housing, as one of the starkest examples. The program was initially estimated in 2020 to cost about $2.5 million per year, but ballooned to more than $104 million by 2024, which McDonald attributed to fraud.

“One of the programs has been completely shut down because there’s no money left: It’s all gone,” McDonald said, adding that the program was shut down in 2025 and “these services no longer exist for these vulnerable homeless populations.”

Prosecutors also cited what they described as suspicious growth in other taxpayer-funded programs, including an autism program that McDonald said rose from $600,000 in costs six years ago to more than $400 million.

“That number is not driven by supply and demand,” he said. “It is not driven by healthcare or charity. It is fraud.”

McDonald said the DOJ has surged 11 strike force prosecutors from across the country into Minnesota to help pursue the cases, calling the alleged fraud a “crisis” and signaling that more enforcement action is expected.

Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock apologized in court as she was sentenced to more than 41 1/2 years and ordered to pay nearly $243 million in restitution at Thursday's sentencing.

“It was never my goal to do this,” Bock told the court, with the prosecutors portraying her as the ringleader and “mastermind” of a massive pandemic-era fraud scheme involving federal child nutrition funds.

“I failed to protect people. I really believed in the work I was doing. Now I see how wrong that was. I’m sorry to the public. I’m sorry to the court. Sorry to my family, sorry to my children. I never intended for this to go the way that it went.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Prosecutors argued Bock had shown no remorse and had refused to accept responsibility from the beginning. They said that when the Minnesota Department of Education began scrutinizing the operation and hearing from whistleblowers, Bock doubled down by suing the state and accusing officials of racism and discrimination against program recipients.

At one point in court, prosecutors held up a T-shirt that read, “Feeding Our Future feeds our kids / Minnesota Department of Education won’t,” describing it as an example of how Bock and others publicly attacked state officials while knowingly stealing money meant to feed children during the pandemic.

Prosecutors also said Bock accepted bribes and kickbacks, controlled proceeds from the scheme, handled claims, distributed money and signed checks — some worth tens of thousands of dollars and others worth millions.

Bock’s defense attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, pushed back on the government’s characterization, countering the court's claims that “she did not organize all the fraud” and “went into a vortex.”

He said Bock “is still a good person” who gave access to people she should not have trusted.

“The people happened to be minorities,” Udoibok said. “She thought she was giving them access to be good citizens and feed their families.”

Bock will remain in custody until the Department of Corrections determines her placement.

Her attorney asked that she be assigned to a prison near Minnesota so she can receive visits from her family, and the judge said she would make that request.

Fox News' Madelin Fuerste contributed to this report.

The Department of Labor is intensifying its crackdown on unemployment insurance fraud after an estimated $135 billion in pandemic-era benefits was stolen, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling told Fox Business.

Sonderling calls it one of the largest fraud schemes involving taxpayer dollars in U.S. history.

“People are sick and tired of getting their hard-earned taxpayer dollars stolen,” Sonderling said in Washington, D.C. “And it’s enough — not just the fraud, waste, and abuse — but actual theft of taxpayer dollars.”

Sonderling said fraudsters exploited weak verification systems during the pandemic by using stolen Social Security numbers, filing claims in multiple states and routing benefits through debit cards, fake bank accounts, fake email addresses and fake companies. 

He said the abuse included more than $1 billion sent to Social Security numbers belonging to people under 14 years old, along with claims tied to people over 115, inmates and even someone listed as being born in 2154.

The department has already frozen more than $500 million in suspicious payments before the money could go out and identified more than $900 million sitting on prepaid debit cards tied to potential fraud, Sonderling said. 

He said investigators are also targeting criminal networks, including foreign actors from China, North Korea and Africa, that allegedly used stolen identities to siphon American taxpayer dollars overseas.

Sonderling said the department is pushing states to adopt stricter identity-verification systems, share data across state lines and use AI-powered tools to spot suspicious patterns before benefits are paid. 

“We’re done with paying first and verifying later,” he said, adding that states that fail to prevent fraud or share information will face “significant issues” with the Labor Department, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Fox Business' Connor Hansen and Chase Williams contributed to this report.

The Department of Justice is hosting a noon ET news conference Thursday for what it calls a “significant law enforcement action” involving fraud in Minnesota.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, as well as other federal leaders and law enforcement partners will participate.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is no longer expected to attend after original information had him attending the news conference Thursday.

This announcement comes on the same day the former leader of a Minnesota nonprofit at the center of a staggering $250 million fraud case that helped ignite a federal immigration crackdown is set to be sentenced Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis.

The former leader of a Minnesota nonprofit at the center of a $250 million fraud case that helped ignite a federal immigration crackdown is set to be sentenced Thursday in federal court in Minneapolis.

Aimee Bock was convicted for her role in Feeding our Future, which claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic, and she faces 50 years in prison.

“Feeding Our Future operated like a cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks,” prosecutors said in the Monday filing. “The ripple effects of her actions are profound, immeasurable, and will have lasting consequences for both Minnesota and the nation.”

Bock was convicted last year of multiple counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery.

She has long insisted she is innocent.

Her lawyer, Kenneth Udoibok, argued in a separate filing that she shouldn't have to serve for more than 37 months in prison, saying she had provided information to investigators. He argued that Bock had been unfairly painted as the mastermind and insisted that two co-defendants were responsible for running the scams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.