Near Two Harbors, 34 structures burned and Highway 61 closed; in Crow Wing County, a 1,600-acre fire sparked evacuations

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed a fresh batch of social service program fraud charges ahead of a visit to Minneapolis Thursday by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other administration officials including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. 

The news conference is scheduled to follow the sentencing of Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock, 45, who was convicted last year of leading a scheme to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. Prosecutors are 

In the latest fraud cases, investigators 

 that Fahima E. Mahamud, who owned Future Leaders Early Learning Center on Chicago Avenue, defrauded Minnesota's Child Care Assistance Program out of $4.6 million. Prosecutors initially charged Mahamud, 50, in February with falsely claiming reimbursement for $854,000 in children’s meals via Feeding Our Future. Those charges still stand. 

, 43, is charged with defrauding Minnesota's Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program out of $425,000 by falsely claiming to have employed 23 people at child care centers in Rochester, Kasson, and Ramsey. 

In a third case unsealed on Wednesday, federal prosecutors allege that Mustafa Dayib and Abdulbasit Ibrahim, who are in their twenties, defrauded the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program out of $975,000. 

, the men started a company called Vitality Health Services in 2022 and billed Medicaid for “false claims that significantly overrepresented the hours of services they provided” to Medicaid recipients in need of help finding and keeping stable housing.

Mahamud, Mertens, Dayib, and Ibrahim are all charged by criminal information, which means they are expected to plead guilty after waiving their right to have a grand jury determine probable cause.

 the Housing Stabilization Services program last year amid allegations of fraud. In September, prosecutors announced an 

 against eight people in connection with HSS fraud. 

Also Wednesday, grand jury indictments were unsealed that charge three others with fraud in Minnesota Medicaid programs. 

Ahmed O. Kadar, 23, is accused of bilking taxpayers out of $1.4 million by overbilling the Integrated Community Supports program in 2024 and 2025 through his company Ultimate Home Health. 

, Ultimate rented an 11-unit apartment building that Kadar used to house Medicaid recipients for whom he allegedly filed fraudulent claims. Prosecutors say that Kadar failed to respond to repeated complaints from tenants “that power had been shut off to their units, resulting in Medicaid recipients being forced to live in units without heat during winter.” Kadar is charged with health care fraud and money laundering. 

In December, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson announced the investigation into ICS at a news conference where he also 

 that fraud in 14 vulnerable Medicaid programs, including ICS and HSS, cost taxpayers $9 billion.  

 unsealed Wednesday, Shamso A. Hassan and Hanaan M. Yusuf are accused of defrauding Minnesota’s Early Intensive Development and Behavioral Intervention, or EIDBI, program, which is meant to help children with autism.

Hassan and Yusuf were part owners of Smart Therapy Center in Minneapolis and Star Autism Center in St. Cloud. They and other owners of the businesses allegedly paid kickbacks to parents in exchange for enrolling their children, regardless of any autism symptoms. 

Prosecutors allege that the businesses submitted $46.6 million in fraudulent claims, for which they were reimbursed $21.1 million. 

The autism center fraud investigation became public when the FBI 

 Smart Therapy and Star Autism in late 2024. 

Asha Hassan, who was the CEO of Smart Therapy, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to fraud charges. Abdinajib Yussuf, the CEO of Star Autism Center, pleaded guilty in March. 

Crime, Law and Justice

NewsPartners

Homepage

Fraud in Minnesota

Matt Sepic

Author

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed a fresh batch of fraud charges ahead of a visit to Minneapolis Thursday by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other administration officials.

Feds file new fraud cases ahead of visit by Blanche, top administration officials

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox