Medicaid Fraud and Oversight

Minnesota prosecutors say Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, accused of orchestrating an alleged $11 million Medicaid fraud scheme, failed to appear for a pre‑trial hearing in Hennepin County this week, triggering a warrant for his arrest and the forfeiture of his $150,000 unconditional bond. Said is charged with racketeering and multiple counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle for allegedly secretly running multiple Medicaid‑funded home‑health agencies between 2019 and 2023 despite being barred from such work after a 2022 Medicaid‑fraud conviction that included a $77,000 restitution order. According to the criminal complaint, investigators say the operation billed Medicaid for services that were never provided, were ineligible, or were backed by falsified or missing documentation, including nearly $1 million for clients who denied receiving care and more than $4.6 million to a single agency based on falsified records. Attorney General Keith Ellison said his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working with federal law enforcement to locate Said, calling the no‑show a "deeply frustrating setback" but vowing to hold him and other Medicaid fraudsters accountable amid broader scrutiny of Minnesota’s oversight following the separate $250 million "Feeding Our Future" scandal. Critics online are seizing on Said’s ability to post an unconditional bond and keep his passport as evidence that the state remains too lax with high‑dollar fraud defendants tied to taxpayer‑funded programs.