First autism‑fraud defendant Asha Hassan pleads guilty; DHS moves to revoke Smart Therapy license
Asha Hassan pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in Minnesota’s autism‑services and Feeding Our Future investigations, admitting to a roughly $14 million Medicaid billing scheme and theft of hundreds of thousands tied to Feeding Our Future; her plea calls for nearly $16 million in restitution and contemplates a 70–87 month sentence while she remains free pending sentencing. The Minnesota Department of Human Services has moved to revoke Smart Therapy Center LLC’s HCBS license—after a temporary suspension on Oct. 10, 2025 and with formal revocation set for Jan. 7, 2026—citing the criminal charges and allegations of recruiting Somali families, paying kickbacks and fabricating or overbilling autism services as part of a broader Medicaid program‑integrity crackdown that investigators say is pushing about $300 million in fraud.
📌 Key Facts
- Asha Hassan, owner of Smart Therapy Center LLC, pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2025 to one count of wire fraud in the Minnesota autism‑services and Feeding Our Future (FOF) cases.
- Under her plea agreement Hassan agreed to pay nearly $16 million in restitution, prosecutors say the scheme involved roughly $14 million in Medicaid/EIDBI billings; the agreement contemplates a 70–87 month prison term and she remains free pending sentencing.
- Hassan admitted stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to the Feeding Our Future scheme; earlier reporting said Smart Therapy claimed it fed up to 1,200 children daily through FOF, sought nearly $500,000 in reimbursements and billed about $14 million in EIDBI services.
- Her defense previously indicated she planned to plead guilty within weeks and that there was “some level of cooperation” with federal prosecutors; defense lawyers characterized a “perfect storm” of factors that enabled the alleged scheme.
- Investigators say the broader fraud probe is massive—totals are “pushing $300 million”—with dozens more charges expected and cross‑program abuse (about two dozen FOF defendants also received funds from autism clinics).
- Minnesota DHS summarily suspended Smart Therapy’s HCBS license on Oct. 10, 2025 after Hassan’s criminal charges and moved to revoke the license effective Jan. 7, 2026.
- DHS and reporting allege Smart Therapy recruited Somali families, paid kickbacks, and over‑billed or fabricated autism services; DHS is treating those criminal charges as grounds for license action.
- The crackdown is statewide: DHS also suspended the license of a St. Cloud autism center owner after new fraud charges, and officials frame these actions as part of a broader Medicaid program‑integrity effort that has targeted autism, Housing Stabilization and ICS providers.
📊 Relevant Data
Somali Minnesotans generate at least $500 million in income annually and pay about $67 million in state and local taxes.
Somali Minnesotans drive economic growth, pay $67M taxes annually — KSTP
The Somali community in Minnesota has a 22% self-employment rate, indicating high entrepreneurship.
Minnesota's Somali residents largely work in a few key industries — Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Somali-born immigrants in Minnesota have an incarceration rate of 1,170 per 100,000, compared to 1,221 per 100,000 for native-born Americans (2023 data, ages 18-54).
Yes, Somali Immigrants Commit More Crime Than Natives — City Journal
Adjusted for young men (ages 18-29, Somalis arrived ≤15 years old), Somali-born incarceration rate is 5,030 per 100,000, compared to 2,450 per 100,000 for U.S.-born and 1,280 per 100,000 for non-Hispanic white natives.
Yes, Somali Immigrants Commit More Crime Than Natives — City Journal
About 54 percent of Somali-headed households in Minnesota receive food stamps, and 73 percent of Somali households have at least one member on Medicaid.
Somali Immigrants in Minnesota — Center for Immigration Studies
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- DHS has summarily suspended the license of a separate St. Cloud autism center’s owner after new fraud charges, showing the autism‑fraud probe is not confined to the Twin Cities.
- The owner of the St. Cloud center has been criminally charged with fraud tied to autism/Medicaid billing, paralleling the Smart Therapy Center case.
- This suspension is explicitly framed as part of Minnesota’s broader Medicaid program‑integrity crackdown that has already hit autism, Housing Stabilization and ICS providers.
- DHS issued a temporary immediate suspension of Smart Therapy Center LLC’s HCBS license on Oct. 10, 2025 because owner Asha Hassan was criminally charged in the Medicaid/autism and Feeding Our Future fraud cases.
- DHS says the revocation of Smart Therapy’s license will formally take effect Jan. 7, 2026.
- The article details how Smart Therapy allegedly recruited Somali families, paid kickbacks, over‑billed or fabricated autism services, and confirms DHS is treating those criminal charges as grounds to pull the HCBS license.
- Asha Hassan pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in the Minnesota autism‑services fraud case.
- She agreed to pay nearly $16 million in restitution; prosecutors describe a ~$14 million Medicaid scheme.
- Hassan admitted also stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to the Feeding Our Future scheme.
- Plea agreement contemplates a 70–87 month sentence; she remains free pending sentencing.
- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said roughly two dozen FOF defendants also received funds from autism clinics, illustrating cross‑program fraud.
- Defense says Hassan plans to plead guilty within weeks.
- Her attorney, Ryan Pacyga, says there is 'some level of cooperation' with federal prosecutors.
- FOX 9 reports Smart Therapy Centers claimed feeding up to 1,200 children daily via Feeding Our Future and sought nearly $500,000 in reimbursements, in addition to ~$14 million in EIDBI billings.
- Hassan is identified as the 76th defendant in the broader Feeding Our Future case and the first charged in the autism-center probe.
- Defense quotes characterize a 'perfect storm' of factors enabling the scheme; article notes the state only recently changed funding approaches to these programs.
- Investigators’ fraud totals are 'pushing $300 million,' with more charges expected across related cases.