MN fraud: Suspect charged in $21M autism fraud case appears in court
MN fraud: Suspect in autism center scheme due in court
A woman facing charges in a $21 million fraud scheme in Minnesota, who was among a group of people indicted by the Department of Justice last week for fraud, is set to appear in federal court on Tuesday.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A woman facing charges in a $21 million autism fraud case in Minnesota, who was among a group of people indicted by the Department of Justice last week, is set to appear in federal court on Tuesday.
Fraud suspect in court
What we know:
Shamso Ahmed Hassan is slated to appear before a judge Tuesday morning after she was indicted last week on a charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Hassan was indicted alongside Hanaan Mursal Yusuf for the scheme.
Fraud in Minnesota: DOJ announces fraud charges against 15 people,
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a major fraud indictment in Minnesota, with charges being handed up against 15 people for fraud targeting $90 million in taxpayer funds. FOX 9's Paul Blume has the story.
DOJ announces new fraud charges
Big picture view:
The indictment against Hassan and Yusuf was unsealed last week as top federal officials announced charges against 15 individuals for fraud in Minnesota.
Top Trump administration officials staged a news conference in Minneapolis to announce the charges. The news conference came on the same day that Feeding our Future ringleader Aimee Bock was sentenced for her role organizing the massive $250 million fraud scheme against the federal child nutrition program. She was sentenced to 41.5 years in prison.
FBI raids MN autism treatment centers
FBI agents raided autism treatment centers in Minneapolis and St. Cloud on Thursday morning. The raids could be part of a broader investigation, with search warrants indicating that the raids are part of an investigation into possible Medicaid fraud.
What Hassan is accused of
The backstory:
Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf are accused of running a scheme against the state's autism program connected to Smart Therapy Center LLC and Star Autism LLC.
Authorities say the women would file claims for services that were unnecessary or not provided. In total, $46.6 million in claims were submitted and were ultimately reimbursed more than $21.1 million by Medicaid.
Prosecutors allege that Hassan and Yusuf would pay kickbacks to parents to get them to enroll their children into the autism centers. Authorities say the women took hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of the Medicaid money and sent the money overseas, including to Kenya.
Dig deeper:
Those autism centers were raided by federal authorities back in 2024. Back in December, Asha Hassan pleaded guilty to fraud charges connected to Smart Therapy. She became the first person in Minnesota to plead guilty to autism fraud charges. Asha Hassan also pleaded guilty to Feeding our Future charges at the same time.