Two Charged in $21 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme

Two individuals from Minnesota are facing charges for allegedly defrauding Medicaid of over $21 million by using an autism care center.

Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanan Mursal Yusuf were taken into custody by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on May 21. A recent report outlined the charges against them for this significant fraud scheme.

According to the DHS, Hassan was involved with Smart Therapy Center LLC and Starr Autism Center LLC, where she was both a beneficiary and a service provider enrolled in Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program. Her role included submitting claims to Medicaid.

The authorities claim that over a period spanning four years, from May 2020 to December 2024, the two executed a scheme that led to approximately $21.1 million in fraudulent claims against the healthcare benefit program.

The investigation is being spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with Homeland Security Investigations. Both individuals are currently in federal custody awaiting further legal proceedings.

Interestingly, it has been confirmed that Hassan is a naturalized citizen, while both women are U.S. citizens. Allegedly, the defendants paid monthly kickbacks between $300 and $1,500 to parents of Medicaid-eligible children for their receipt of EIDBI services at their establishment.

The indictment further states that these kickbacks were concealed by writing checks to family members and employees, instructing them to cash and distribute the payments to parents. They even referred to these illegal transactions using the term “computer.”

Additionally, some of the funds were reportedly transferred overseas, including to Kenya.

Interestingly, Minnesota has been in the spotlight for various health care fraud cases. Recently, Amy Bock, former head of Feeding Our Future, was sentenced to 41.5 years in prison for a scheme that involved stealing about $250 million in federal funds. There have been other cases, including a man trying to escape federal authorities in a multi-million dollar fraud case by jumping from a fourth-floor balcony.