Minnesota judge tosses $7.2M Medicaid fraud verdict
Hennepin County Judge Sarah West overturned a unanimous jury conviction against Abdifatah Yusuf in late November, vacating six theft counts tied to a $7.2 million Medicaid fraud scheme after finding the state’s circumstantial case did not exclude reasonable alternative inferences. West wrote that evidence supported a rational inference that Yusuf’s brother, Mohamed, could have committed the fraud without Abdifatah’s knowledge, a decision that has drawn political criticism and renewed scrutiny of Minnesota’s strict circumstantial‑evidence standard now under review by the state Supreme Court.
📌 Key Facts
- Judge Sarah West vacated Abdifatah Yusuf’s six-count aiding-and-abetting theft conviction tied to $7.2 million in alleged Medicaid fraud.
- West cited Minnesota’s stringent circumstantial-evidence rule and wrote an alternative, reasonable inference implicated Yusuf’s brother, Mohamed.
- Prosecutors alleged the home‑health business operated “out of a mailbox” and funded luxury shopping; the ruling has sparked backlash amid wider Minnesota welfare‑fraud scandals.
📊 Relevant Data
The Somali population in Minnesota is approximately 107,000, representing about 2% of the state's total population of around 5.7 million as of 2024.
By the numbers: Minnesota's Somali population, according to Census data — KTTC
In the Feeding Our Future child nutrition fraud case in Minnesota, which involved $250 million in stolen funds, 65 out of 70 individuals charged had Somali-sounding names, despite Somalis comprising only 2% of the state's population.
Probing Trump's Verbal Attack on Somalis — FactCheck.org
The poverty rate among Somali Minnesotans is 36%, compared to 9% for the state overall in 2023.
Probing Trump's Verbal Attack on Somalis — FactCheck.org
42% of Somali Minnesotans received SNAP benefits in 2023, compared to 9% of all Minnesotans.
Probing Trump's Verbal Attack on Somalis — FactCheck.org
Minnesota has experienced over $1 billion in human-services and welfare fraud since 2020, with many cases involving individuals from the Somali community.
How Fraud Swamped Minnesota's Social Services System on Tim Walz's Watch — The New York Times