Two more Somalis busted in Minnesota, 21 million Medicaid heist exposed

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Two Minnesota women, Shamso Ahmed Hassan (55) and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf (25), both U.S. citizens of Somali descent, were arrested and charged in a major Medicaid fraud scheme.

Details:

  • They allegedly ran two autism therapy centers (Smart Therapy Center and Star Autism Center) in the Minneapolis area.
  • They billed Minnesota Medicaid $46.6 million for services that were never provided.
  • They received approximately $21.1 million in fraudulent payments.
  • Prosecutors say they paid kickbacks to parents to enroll children (regardless of actual need), falsified records, and laundered the money into real estate and overseas transfers.
This is part of a larger federal takedown in Minnesota involving 15 defendants accused of defrauding over $90 million in various Medicaid programs. Minnesota has seen a wave of these cases in recent years.