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Minnesota fraud suspect skips court, forfeits bond, throwing $11M Medicaid case into doubt
A man accused of orchestrating an $11 million Medicaid fraud scheme in Minnesota skipped a scheduled court appearance this week, prompting a warrant for his arrest, authorities said.
Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing in Hennepin County, forfeiting his bond, according FOX 9, citing the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that his office is working with federal authorities to locate Said.
“A warrant has been issued for Said’s arrest after he failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing,” Ellison told the outlet. “My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working with federal law enforcement to locate Said and ensure he faces justice for the fraud he committed. This is a deeply frustrating setback, however, I remain committed to doing everything I can to hold Said and other Medicaid fraudsters accountable.”
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Said posted a $150,000 unconditional bond to avoid stricter conditions, including surrendering his passport, while a $50,000 conditional bond would have required it, according to FOX 9. Investigators also raised concerns about Said’s potential to flee, citing family ties abroad, according to FOX 9.
Prosecutors charged Said with racketeering and multiple counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle in connection with an alleged scheme that defrauded Minnesota’s Medicaid program of nearly $11 million, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint alleges Said carried out the scheme — from 2019 through 2023 — by secretly operating multiple Medicaid-funded home health care agencies despite being barred from working with such programs following a prior fraud conviction.
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Authorities said Said and his co-conspirators billed Medicaid for services that were never provided, weren’t properly recorded or were backed by fake paperwork. Investigators also allege the group billed for services that weren’t eligible for payment and charged more than they should have.
According to court documents, the scheme involved millions of dollars in fraudulent billing, including more than $4.6 million paid to one agency based on falsified documentation. Investigators also found nearly $1 million was billed for clients who denied receiving services, along with more than $300,000 in overbilling and more than $5.8 million in claims that were not documented or were fraudulently documented.
Court records show Said was convicted of Medicaid fraud in 2022, ordered to pay $77,000 and barred from working with any Medicaid-funded agency — a restriction prosecutors allege he later violated.
The case has raised new concerns about oversight of taxpayer-funded programs, as state leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, have faced mounting criticism over their handling of fraud in Minnesota.
The development comes amid broader concerns over fraud in Minnesota, including the sprawling “Feeding Our Future” case, in which prosecutors allege defendants created fake meal programs and fraudulently claimed more than $250 million in federal funds.
Former Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson has suggested fraud across some programs could total billions of dollars, potentially reaching $9 billion.
State officials have faced ongoing questions about oversight of taxpayer-funded programs, with critics pointing to additional fraud cases involving Medicaid and welfare spending.
Ellison, whose office has brought multiple fraud cases, appeared before Congress earlier this year to address concerns about enforcement and oversight.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota for additional comment.
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Dem senator calls out far-left streamer, asks what ‘normal’ person would go on such an antagonistic show
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., fired back after far-left streamer Hasan Piker criticized her for going on Bill Maher‘s show while failing to appear on his Twitch livestream.
“I’ve said repeatedly that I’ve got to call balls and strikes, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia… so that’s what I’ve tried to do, as he’s come into Michigan,” Slotkin told POLITICO’s Adam Wren.
“There are a ton of invites that I’ve not taken, and every politician has to make their choice…” she added.
Wren pressed Slotkin about which “strikes” Piker had made with her, prompting her to call out “derogatory” remarks he had made against orthodox jews and his prior suggestion that America “deserved 9/11.”
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“Not to mention, he calls me ‘stupid’ every other week,” she said.
“So, what normal human being would choose to go on a show when someone calls you ‘stupid’ every ten days?
“It’s not going to be something I do.”
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Slotkin also said she had “never been invited” to appear on Piker’s content.
Slotkin additionally came under fire from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for appearing on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
The organization demanded that she apologize and denounce Maher’s “long history of anti-Muslim bigotry and anti-Arab racism.”
The Michigan Democrat‘s remarks came after Piker’s controversial rally with Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at Michigan State University on Tuesday, where, while speaking to a POLITICO reporter, he listed her among the senators who “[doesn’t] know who I am.”
“I mean, this double standard exists in American politics. Islamophobia is often times not considered at all. Bill Maher is not only an Islamophobe, but he has also demonstrated anti-Blackness at every turn, but at the end of the day, he is representative of the same forces of politics in this country that are aligned with the establishment goals, and therefore, there’s never a question about participating in his show,” Piker said.
In 2019, Piker said, “America deserved 9/11.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Piker for comment, but did not hear back.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
The NBA regular season is set to finish on Sunday, but dozens of players appear to be wrapped up a bit early.
In fact, 168 total players sat out of action on Friday night due to either a listed injury or illness.
Among those 168 players were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, each of the last two MVPs, whose teams faced off against one another.
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Reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, whom Gilgeous-Alexander plays for, said his stars “earned the right to sit,” considering they again snagged the top seed in the Western Conference.
“If we didn’t clinch [the No. 1 overall seed] coming into tonight, everybody would be playing,” Daigneault told reporters ahead of their game against Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, via ESPN. “We’ve earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies and stuff like that.”
Stars to take the floor on Friday include LeBron James amid his Los Angeles Lakers’ injury woes and Victor Wembanyama, who needed to play 20 minutes to be eligible for season awards and admitted he would not have played if he had already met the criteria. Jokic must play Sunday if he wants to be considered for awards.
With the new wave of load management, another form of today’s basketball was on display, as the Boston Celtics made 29 3-pointers, tying an NBA record, against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the fourth time in the history of the NBA that this had been accomplished, but the last time it was done, you only have to go back to Monday, when the Memphis Grizzlies did it.
On April 3, the NBA saw just the second time in history that a slate of at least nine games had an average margin of victory of at least 24 points. The first time was five days prior.
All 30 NBA teams played in their 81st games on Friday and will play in their 82nd and final game of the regular season Sunday.
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