Fraud in Minnesota: Detailing the nearly $1 billion in schemes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - While fraud in Minnesota has been covered for years by FOX 9, it has been gaining national attention recently. Taking a closer look at why the focus has shifted to Minnesota, we have to take a closer look at what was the catalyst for President Donald Trump and national media to start talking about the massive cases of fraud that FOX 9 has been detailing over the past four years.

The story of fraud in Minnesota gained national attention after an article was published, citing anonymous sources, claiming money from these fraud cases was being funneled to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab is the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts that took over most of southern Somalia in 2006. As of this publishing, no one has been able to provide evidence that any money from these fraud cases in Minnesota have gone to fund terrorism in Somalia.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) told one reporter, "If there was a linkage in the money that they have stolen going to terrorism, then that is a failure of the FBI and our court system in not figuring that out." Rep. Omar added she is "pretty confident" any link to Minnesota fraud dollars and terrorism is a false claim.

In response to the Al-Shabaab story, President Trump said he was going to revoke temporary asylum protections for Somali refugees and order ICE raids in Minneapolis. In a social media post, Trump threatened to send Somalis "back to where they came from," alleging Minnesota is "a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity." The Treasury Department is also now investigating this claim. 

Here are the details regarding the three major fraud cases in Minnesota. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said recently that when his current investigations are finished, fraud in programs administered by Minnesota could exceed $1 billion.

Feeding Our Future

Seventy-eight defendants have been charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud case. The 78th defendant was recently charged on Nov. 24. 

There have been 56 convictions so far in the Feeding Our Future scheme, including the ringleader of the operation Aimee Bock. Bock was found guilty by a jury of fraudulently creating and operating Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota. These sites claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed. An audit showed these sites were serving a small number of meals and some weren’t serving any meals at all.

Here’s a list of the first 47 people to be charged, in September 2022, in the fraud.

How much fraud? :

Feeding Our Future is largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country at $300 million. The government has recovered approximately $75 million.

Autism Providers

After the Feeding Our Future scandal, fraud was discovered in another program in Minnesota. In this particular situation, auditors found a massive growth in spending in Minnesota’s autism program. The number of providers, who are supposed to diagnose and treat people with autism spectrum disorder, increased 700% in the past five years, climbing from 41 providers in 2018 to 328 in 2024.

RELATED: 'Perfect storm' on fraud connects Feeding Our Future to autism center

The amount paid to providers during that time increased 3,000%, from about $6 million to nearly $192 million. That is according to data provided to the Minnesota Reformer by the Department of Human Services.

In September, the Department of Justice charged their first person in this fraud case. Asha Farhan Hassan, 28, was charged with wire fraud for her role in a $14 million autism fraud scheme. Hassan and her partners approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children into Smart Therapy.  Hassan was also charged with participating in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, for which she received $465,000.

How much fraud? :

State payments for autism claims exploded from $1 million in 2017 to more than $220 million in 2024. According to the DOJ, much of that increase is now believed to be linked to fraudulent activity.

Housing Stabilization Fraud 

The most recent fraud case to be uncovered came this year in the state’s housing stabilization program. The program, launched in 2020, would help vulnerable individuals find and maintain housing. However, it was discovered many providers were charging the government for services they never provided to people.

Eight defendants have been federally charged with wire fraud for their roles in a massive housing stabilization fraud scheme.

This program, under the umbrella of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, was originally projected to cost about $2.6 million per year. By 2024, it spiked to $104 million in annual payments. DHS banned 115 individual businesses from billing Medicaid due to what the state labels "credible allegations of fraud".  Then, on October 31, the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced it was terminating the program due to widespread fraud.

Timeline:

• July 2020: Minnesota becomes the first state in the county to offer Medicaid coverage for Housing Stabilization Services
• 2021: Program pays out more than $21 million in claims for 8,300 enrolled people
• 2022: Program pays out more than $42 million in claims for 14,200 enrolled people
• 2023: Program pays out more than $74 million in claims for 16,900 enrolled people
• 2024: Program pays out more than $104 million in claims for 21,300 enrolled people
• First six months of 2025: Program pays out more than $61 million in claims to over 21,000 enrolled people

How much fraud? :

According to the DOJ, Minnesota’s housing stabilization program paid out $302 million over 4.5 years. The estimated cost of the program over that same time frame was actually budgeted to be around $12 million. At the time of these charges, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said most of the $300 million in spending is fraudulent.

Total fraud in Minnesota from these 3 programs

What they're saying:

In all, the $300 million from Feeding Our Future, the possibility of nearly $220 million in autism program fraud and the $302 million from the Housing Stabilization Program adds up to $822 million in fraud from Minnesota services. These totals all come from the Justice Department. 

President Trump

"Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars... and they contribute nothing. The welfare is like 88%. They contribute nothing. I don't want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t want them in this country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country," President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting.

 In a Truth Social post, the President wrote, "Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State. Send them back to where they came from. It's OVER!"

 Minneapolis and St. Paul leaders

"To our Somali community, we love you and we stand with you. That commitment is rock solid, Minneapolis is proud to be home to the largest Somali community in the entire country," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "Targeting Somali people means that due process will be violated, mistakes will be made. It means American citizens will be detained for no other reason than the fact that they look like they are Somali. That is not now and will never be a legitimate reason."

"I am proud to say I am a Somali-American. This country welcomed me and my family 26 years ago," said Council Member Jamal Osman, Ward 6. "I know many families are fearful tonight...but I want you to know that the City of Minneapolis stands behind you. Our community has lived through fear in the past. We're going to stay informed, we're going to stay safe and we're going to support each other." 

"Who he just attacked isn't just Somalis. Who he attacked is Somali Americans. Who he attacked is Americans," said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.

 Minnesota Republican legislators

"The president has the right to speak his own mind and certainly has colored the debate. But I’ll just say that the president has been talking about the challenges with fraud and immigration and the issues and challenges that we have faced from the illegal activity of Somalians in Minnesota," said State Rep. Isaac Schultz, deputy speaker pro tempore.

 "I don’t like those remarks. I would say this: fraud is garbage. Fraud is disgusting," said State Rep. Elliot Engen of Lino Lakes. "I think anybody who’s here illegally who’s looking to defraud our public programs – that’s wrong, and we should go after it. But we shouldn’t lose the forest through the trees just like we shouldn’t lose the fraud through the Democrat distractions."