DOJ Uncovers $29M More In Minnesota Benefits Fraud, Calls State ‘Epicenter For Fraud In America’

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it identified roughly $29.1 million in government benefits fraud in Minnesota over a one-month period.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 30, the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and the District of Minnesota charged, convicted, or sentenced 13 individuals for proven or alleged schemes that caused nearly $83 million in intended losses to the federal government.

The DOJ said in an Oct. 30 statement that it uncovered $29.1 million in fraud in newly charged cases, which is part of the total $83 million.

The targeted benefits programs include Minnesota’s Medicaid program, the Federal Child Nutrition Program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Some are accused of engaging in bribery as part of carrying out their schemes.

In one case, Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim, 54, of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, is facing wire fraud and money laundering charges for being part of a scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the nonprofit Feeding Our Future.

Ibrahim and his co-conspirators are alleged to have falsely claimed to be serving thousands of meals to children every day for four months. The department alleged he used this fake meal distribution to collect more than $1.1 million in reimbursements through the nonprofit.

In another case, the DOJ said it charged Feisal Mohamed Elmi, 46, of New Brighton, Minnesota, with 11 counts related to health care fraud in an $8.2 million scheme that targeted the state’s Medicaid program.

So far this year, the Justice Department said it has issued more than 1,000 subpoenas and executed over 40 warrants to identify fraud in Minnesota.

“Minnesota is the epicenter for fraud in America,” acting deputy attorney general Trent McCotter said in the statement.

“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,” McCotter said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim’s legal representative for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. The Epoch Times could not reach Feisal Mohamed Elmi’s legal representative.

During an Oct. 30 news conference, Trump administration officials highlighted the crackdown against fraud in Minnesota. FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that FBI Minneapolis and other law enforcement officers executed 17 search warrants on Oct. 29, with four people arrested for allegedly seeking to defraud more than $41 million from thousands of victims.

Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, said during the conference that prosecutors charged five people in the past week for Medicaid fraud schemes involving $48 million in intended losses.

“The days of indifference are over … wherever the money leads, the full weight of government will follow,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the event.

Earlier, in August, the Treasury said in a statement that various fraud schemes based out of Minnesota have siphoned off federal and state dollars meant for people with disabilities, individuals lacking housing, or those struggling with procuring food. This has potentially cost Minnesota billions of dollars, with some of the stolen funds laundered abroad.

To tackle this issue, the Treasury announced the renewal of a Geographic Targeting Order requiring money transmitters and banks in the state’s Ramsey and Hennepin counties to report information about fund transfers of $3,000 or more to recipients or banks outside the United States.

The order aims to help law enforcement detect when fraud proceeds are sent overseas and act quickly to deal with the issue, the Treasury said.

“We will continue to give law enforcement critical tools to trace criminal networks that siphon taxpayer dollars and move them overseas. The Trump Administration will not allow criminals to profit from programs intended to help vulnerable Americans,” Bessent said in the statement.