Federal authorities announced a sweeping enforcement initiative on Friday targeting Medicaid and nutrition program fraud in Minnesota, detailing actions against 13 defendants connected to nearly $83 million in intended losses.
The coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Fraud Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota uncovered approximately $29.1 million in newly charged cases since late September. Investigators have served more than 1,000 subpoenas and executed over 40 search warrants across the state this year alone.
Officials stated that the illegal operations diverted taxpayer funds away from programs designed to feed children and provide care for individuals with disabilities.
“Minnesota is the epicenter for fraud in America,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “The Trump administration’s crackdown is working, and the results speak for themselves. Through the Minnesota Fraud Task Force we are systematically dismantling schemes preying on Americans. Backed by more than a thousand subpoenas and 40 warrants, the message is simple: No one stealing from taxpayer-funded programs is safe.”
Colin M. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, described the volume of fraud occurring within the state as deeply alarming.
“The alarming concentration of fraud targeting taxpayer-funded programs in Minnesota demands a coordinated and sustained response,” McDonald said. “We are working with our law enforcement partners to uncover alleged fraud, protect public funds, and hold offenders accountable. We will continue these efforts until these schemes are dismantled and taxpayer dollars are protected from abuse in Minnesota.”
Among the newly charged defendants is Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim, 54, of Pelican Rapids. Authorities arrested Ibrahim on September 30 after he spent nearly 10 months as a fugitive in Kenya. Prosecutors allege he unlawfully obtained more than $1.1 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program by falsely claiming to serve 6,000 daily meals to children through a local mosque and a community center. Authorities further allege he used those funds to purchase a vehicle and property in Kenya.
Several additional new indictments center on the state’s Medicaid program for children with autism, known as EIDBI.
Prosecutors charged Habiba Mohamed, 58, of Coon Rapids, in connection with an alleged $19.1 million scheme involving kickbacks paid to parents. Feisal Mohamed Elmi, 46, of New Brighton, faces charges related to an alleged $8.2 million scheme that billed for services while workers were located abroad. Emily Marice Ravits, 74, of Tucson, Arizona, a licensed clinical social worker, was indicted on charges that she fraudulently authorized $7.7 million in autism therapies that were never performed and without providing any supervisory oversight of the care.
Additional charges involve home health care and food assistance programs. Faiza Osman Ahmed, 41, of Richfield, was charged in connection with an alleged $10 million home-care billing scheme. Jama Yusuf Mohamod, 68, of Maple Grove, was indicted for allegedly billing $3.2 million for community support services rendered while patients were traveling, and for using artificial intelligence tools to generate fraudulent clinical notes. In Blaine, Ahmed Abdul Razaq Al Obaidi, 49, and store clerk Muhammad Abdullah Kahn were charged with trafficking federal food stamp benefits for cash at a local tobacco shop.
Recent court proceedings have also produced convictions and substantial prison sentences.
Muna Wais Fidhin, 45, of Savage, was convicted on October 21 following a three-week trial. Jurors determined that she billed nearly $1 million for non-existent meals prepared out of a small clinic hallway café and used the proceeds to pay off her home and a luxury vehicle.
Nicole Lee Slegers, 48, and Shaun Hubert Slegers, 37, both of Arco, pleaded guilty on October 28 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors allege that Nicole Slegers exploited her position as a county social services employee to target grieving families and steal at least 14 vehicles from the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients.
In sentencing proceedings, Salim Ahmed Said, 37, of Plymouth, received a 30-year prison sentence on October 28. Said operated Safari Restaurant, which served as a central hub in the $250 million Feeding Our Future scandal, through which he laundered more than $44 million via shell companies.
Said Farah, 44, of Minneapolis, was sentenced on October 30 to six and a half years in prison and fined $40,000 for attempting to bribe a juror with $200,000 in cash during a 2024 trial connected to the same child nutrition case. Farah also deleted phone messages after the presiding judge ordered defendants to surrender their devices.
Federal prosecutors have additionally filed civil forfeiture documentation to seize three Minneapolis properties valued at $519,000, which authorities allege are connected to proceeds derived from child nutrition fraud.
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