DOJ Ties New Minnesota Medicaid And Child-Care Fraud Charges To Feeding Our Future Sentencing
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against 15 people in Minnesota accused of roughly $90 million in Medicaid and social-services fraud and tied the indictments to the Feeding Our Future prosecution.[1]
Prosecutors said two autism-clinic defendants were central to the case, accused of submitting about $46.6 million in fraudulent claims to Minnesota's Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program.[2] Authorities named the pair as Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, alleging they paid kickbacks to steer families, billed for services not provided, filed roughly $46.6 million in claims and received about $21.6 million.[3] Separately, prosecutors say Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar and Ibrahim Bashir Abdi submitted about $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program; Omar briefly fled an FBI raid on May 21 but was arrested within hours.[4]
On Wednesday, May 20, federal fraud charges were unsealed against daycare owner Fahima Mahamud, who is under house arrest and whom prosecutors say tried to book a flight to London the same day she told the state her center was closing.[5] Prosecutors allege her Future Leaders Early Learning Center, sponsored by Feeding Our Future, once claimed to serve 60,000 children monthly and received more than $850,000 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds between January and July 2021.[5] From 2022 to 2025, Mahamud allegedly submitted roughly 13,000 Minnesota child-care assistance claims seeking about $4.6 million in reimbursements for recipients whose co-payments were not collected as required.[5]
Early accounts focused on Mahamud and alleged child-care and nutrition fraud, but reporting widened after the May 21 news conference to encompass the $90 million sweep and its tie to a national anti-fraud effort.[6] Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald vowed, "We will claw back every dollar you have stolen from the American people." PBS News HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also appeared at the courthouse and called the autism indictment the largest autism fraud bust in U.S. history.[3]
Show source details & analysis (7 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, federal fraud charges were unsealed against Minnesota daycare owner Fahima Mahamud, who is now under house arrest and whom prosecutors say tried to book a flight to London the same day she notified the state that Future Leaders Early Learning was closing (Fahima Mahamud).
- The indictment says Future Leaders Early Learning — sponsored by Feeding Our Future — at one point claimed to serve 60,000 children monthly and submitted 2020–2021 receipts for two meals a day for 1,000 children, seven days a week, while receiving more than $850,000 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds between January and July 2021 (Future Leaders Early Learning).
- Prosecutors allege that from 2022 to 2025 Mahamud submitted roughly 13,000 Minnesota CCAP child‑care claims seeking about $4.6 million in reimbursements “on behalf of recipients from whom co‑payments were not collected as required,” refining how the CCAP fraud was carried out (13,000 CCAP claims).
- On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Justice Department held a Minnesota news conference announcing criminal charges against 15 defendants accused of attempting to defraud Minnesota Medicaid and other state programs of roughly $90 million; that announcement was made immediately after Aimee Bock’s federal sentencing in Minneapolis (May 21, 2026 Minnesota news conference).
- Officials tied the new Minnesota indictments to the broader federal anti‑fraud campaign, with Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald promising, “We will claw back every dollar you have stolen from the American people” (Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald).
- The enforcement action included two autism‑clinic defendants accused of submitting about $46.6 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims targeting Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) autism program (about $46.6 million).
- Prosecutors named the two autism‑clinic defendants as Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, alleging they paid kickbacks to steer families to their centers, billed Medicaid for services not rendered or not reimbursable, filed about $46.6 million in claims and received roughly $21.6 million; each is charged with conspiracy and money‑laundering, and Yusuf faces additional health‑care fraud counts (Shamso Ahmed Hassan).
- Separately, DOJ alleges Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar and co‑defendant Ibrahim Bashir Abdi submitted about $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to Minnesota Medicaid’s Housing Stabilization Services Program (roughly $3.2 million paid); Omar briefly fled an FBI raid on May 21, 2026 by jumping from a fourth‑story balcony and was arrested within about two hours (Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar).
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
May 23, 2026
7:25 PM
RFK Jr announces 'largest autism fraud bust in American history' with $46.6M Medicaid scheme indictment
New information:
- Fox News reports that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly announced the Minnesota indictments at a news conference at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis on Friday, May 22, 2026, calling it "the largest autism fraud bust in American history."
- The article names the two autism‑clinic defendants as Shamso Ahmed Hassan, 55, and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, 25, and specifies that they are charged over an alleged $46.6 million scheme targeting Minnesota Medicaid’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) autism program.
- According to the indictment as described, Hassan was a shareholder in Smart Therapy Center and Star Autism Center and failed to disclose her ownership to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, while Yusuf worked at Smart Therapy Center and submitted Medicaid reimbursement claims.
- Prosecutors allege the pair paid kickbacks to families to steer children to their centers, then billed Medicaid for services that were not rendered or were not reimbursable, filing about $46.6 million in claims and receiving approximately $21.6 million in payments.
- The indictment further alleges Hassan and Yusuf diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud proceeds for personal and family use, including real estate purchases and transfers of funds overseas to Kenya.
- Fox News specifies that each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of money laundering; Yusuf faces five additional health care fraud counts and Hassan faces two.
May 22, 2026
1:48 PM
Minnesota fraud suspect who jumped from building is arrested, FBI says
New information:
- On Thursday, May 21, 2026, fraud suspect Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar fled an FBI raid by jumping from a fourth-story balcony but was located and arrested within about two hours, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
- The article provides Omar's full identification as a 32-year-old from Roseville, Minnesota, and names his co-defendant as 25-year-old Ibrahim Bashir Abdi of Minneapolis.
- DOJ says Omar and Abdi allegedly submitted about $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to Minnesota Medicaid’s Housing Stabilization Services Program through North Home Health Care LLC and South Home Health Care LLC, with roughly $3.2 million paid.
- The indictment charges Omar and Abdi with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud, and alleges they falsified records to justify claims for services not provided or for more services than delivered.
May 21, 2026
7:03 PM
Minnesota fraud mastermind gets nearly 42 years in prison in massive $250M 'Feeding Our Future' scheme
New information:
- The Fox News article reiterates that authorities are continuing to file new Minnesota fraud cases, including alleged theft via fraudulent Medicaid housing subsidies, child-care reimbursements and more than $21 million in unnecessary or unprovided autism therapy, and directly connects this broader sweep back to the Feeding Our Future prosecution.
- It frames the Trump administration’s deployment of federal officers to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area 'last winter' as explicitly prompted by the Feeding Our Future scandal and describes resulting 'violent protests and multiple fatal federal officer-involved shootings.'
6:28 PM
Woman at center of sprawling Minnesota fraud case gets nearly 42-year prison sentence
New information:
- The May 21, 2026 Minnesota news conference announcing charges against 15 defendants in roughly $90 million of alleged Medicaid and social-services fraud was held immediately after Aimee Bock's federal sentencing in Minneapolis.
- Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald used the event to promise, "We will claw back every dollar you have stolen from the American people," explicitly tying the new Minnesota indictments to the broader federal anti-fraud campaign.
- The article underscores that the newly announced $90 million in alleged Medicaid-related fraud is part of an overlapping set of Minnesota food and social-services cases that also includes defendants from the Feeding Our Future network.
3:30 PM
2 Minnesota Autism Therapy Providers to Be Charged in $46 Million Medicaid Fraud Case
New information:
- On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Justice Department plans to announce criminal charges against 15 people for attempting to defraud Minnesota Medicaid and other state social programs of more than $90 million.
- Among the 15 defendants are an owner and an employee of autism clinics accused of submitting about $46.6 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims, making them central figures in the alleged scheme.
- Other defendants in the same enforcement action will be charged with filing bogus Medicaid claims for services that assist disabled people with obtaining housing and living independently.
- The article ties the Minnesota fraud prosecutions to a March 2026 White House national anti-fraud initiative led by Vice President J.D. Vance and notes that President Trump previously highlighted Minnesota fraud as part of a justification for sending hundreds of federal agents to the state.
4:22 AM
Daycare owner charged with fraud tried to flee U.S. after closing center, prosecutors say
New information:
- On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, federal fraud charges were unsealed against Minnesota daycare owner Fahima Mahamud, who is now under house arrest.
- Prosecutors allege Mahamud booked a flight to London on the same February 2026 day she notified the state that Future Leaders Early Learning Center was closing, two days after the closure.
- The indictment says Future Leaders Early Learning, sponsored by Feeding Our Future, claimed at one point to serve 60,000 children monthly and submitted receipts in 2020-2021 for two meals a day to 1,000 children, seven days a week, while receiving more than $850,000 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds between January and July 2021.
- From 2022 to 2025, Mahamud allegedly submitted roughly 13,000 CCAP claims for $4.6 million in reimbursements "on behalf of recipients from whom co-payments were not collected as required," refining how the CCAP fraud was carried out.
- The article notes that Future Leaders Early Learning was among 10 Minneapolis daycares featured in a December Nick Shirley YouTube video and that state license investigators cited the center on November 10, 2025, for unclean space and missing immunization documentation.
- Justice Department officials announced they will hold a May 21, 2026 news conference in Minnesota to outline a "major law enforcement action involving fraud," with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz scheduled to appear.