Billing for services not provided, submitting false documents and giving kickbacks among allegations
MINNESOTA — A Medicaid fraud sweep involving millions of dollars in alleged stolen funds has resulted in charges against five people in two separate cases, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday.
In total, over $10 million was allegedly stolen from Medicaid in the two separate cases.
Three of the suspects are charged with defrauding Medicaid of more than $9 million, and the other case charges two defendants with stealing $1.4 million from the federal healthcare program.
The defendants allegedly billed Medicaid for services that were not even provided and defrauded the program in other ways, according to a news release from Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office.
The larger case alleging $9 million in Medicaid fraud alleges Abdifatah Yusuf and Lul Ahmed operated a fraudulent agency called Promise Health Services, LLC, which claimed to offer home and community-based services. But prosecutors say the agency operated only out of a mailbox for years and illegally collected millions from Medicaid.
Yusuf and Ahmed allegedly overbilled Medicaid, submitted false documents and gave kickbacks to service recipients to encourage them to keep using Promise Health Services. The defendants often used the Medicaid money to finance “lavish” lifestyles, includingspending tens of thousands of dollars at luxury vehicle and clothing businesses, the news release says.
A third suspect, Abdiweli Mohamud, is accused of allowing a person banned from providing Medicaid services to control a company called Minnesota Home Health Care LLC. The company allegedly received nearly $2 million in Medicaid funds it was not entitled to.
The other case alleges two suspects, Charles Omato and LaTonia Jackson, defrauded Medicaid’s Minnesota Medical Assistance program out of more than $1.4 million. Prosecutors say the defendants’ medical transportation company, Driving Miss Daisy, billed for services that were not provided and improperly charged for other services.
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