Attorney General Ellison obtains convictions in $7.2 million Medicaid fraud case

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced Tuesday that Abdifatah Yusuf has been convicted of bilking a Medicaid program and will now face sentencing. Charges were first filed against Yusuf last June after an investigation by the AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).

According to the MFCU, Yusuf operated a sham company called Promise Health Services, LLC which claimed to offer assistance and other services to people living with disabilities. Between July 2019 and August 2022, the company reportedly received Medicaid payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) for providing these services.

However, an MFCU investigator said Promise Health Services did not adequately document its services, the documentation that existed was largely fraudulent, claims were overbilled, and “recipients” of services denied that they received those services.

According to the MFCU, Promise Health Services did not have a physical office and was operating out of a mailbox. Additionally, Yusuf reportedly transferred over $1 million dollars in Medicaid funds to his personal account over several years. Promise Health Services was also allegedly used to purchase luxury goods for “Yusuf and his co-conspirators.”

While the MFCU noted that there were co-conspirators, the lead investigator stated that Yusuf represented himself as the owner and manager of the company and was “responsible for the statutory and contractual obligations of a Medicaid provider” under state law.

“Yusuf and his co-conspirators profited by using the sham entity Promise [Health Services] to participate in a pattern of criminal activity involving the swindling of millions of Medicaid dollars,” wrote the lead investigator in a criminal complaint.

Announcing Yusuf’s conviction on Tuesday, the AGO said Promise Health Services “stole over $7 million” while being operated by Yusuf.

Yusuf was ultimately found guilty on six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle in an amount exceeding $35,000. The maximum sentence for just one of those counts is 20 years in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both.

Court records show that Yusuf was acquitted of a racketeering charge.

“Stealing money meant for poor people’s healthcare and using it to buy luxury cars and designer clothes is as shameful and disgraceful as it gets,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. “Minnesotans believe in helping our neighbors, but we have no patience for fraudsters like Abdifatah Yusuf who abuse that generosity to enrich themselves.”

The attorney general added, “I am pleased that my office convicted Yusuf, and I am committed to recovering as much of the money he stole from taxpayers as possible.”

Alpha News reached out to Yusuf’s attorneys for this story but did not receive a response.

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