Mpls. daycare operators charged with fraudulently billing the state

Two executives with a Minneapolis child care facility have been charged with overbilling the state of at least $103,527, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said Friday.

The criminal complaints say Abdirizak Ahmed Gayre, 51, owner and director of Minnesota Child Care Services at 2500 Minnehaha Ave., conspired with Ibrahim Awgab Osman, 54, to fix attendance records to show children attended more days at the center than they, in fact, did. Prosecutors also allege the daycare had 16 holidays, more than the 10 permitted by the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program.

An analysis of attendance records also indicated there were 1,673 instances between December 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015 in which Osman and Gayre "falsely claimed that children were in attendance at MCCS when the attendance records show that the children were actually absent or on holiday," the complaints said.

Prosecutors also allege the defendants used some of the money to buy parents' silence about the fraud scheme and encourage them to use the center.

Investigators installed a camera at the main entrance to the daycare in November 2014 without notifying staff or parents. The video and other evidence allegedly showed billing for 50 more children, on average, than actually entered the center each day. Prosecutors also say the director and his assistant "billed for days on which no children attended the center. MCCS submitted bills which state that 34 children attended on December 26, 2014, when in fact the center was closed and no children attended that day." The criminal complaint lists two other days when this happened.

According to the complaint, Osman told investigators that he submitted the bills as taught by Gayre, who submitted some of the bills as well. Both had personal logins with the electronic system used to bill for state funds.

The Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program helps low-income families pay for child care. The complaint says "the vast majority, if not all, of the families whose children attend MCCS have the cost of the childcare paid for by the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program."

The complaints say the child care center was licensed in April 2012.

First appearance court dates for the two defendants have not been set. But in a press release, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office says the trial date for Minnesota Child Care Services is June 6.