Bipartisan praise for federal charges in Minnesota fraud cases

Minnesota officials are applauding after federal prosecutors announced sweeping fraud charges against 15 people accused of stealing more than $90 million from state-managed Medicaid programs. The charges, announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice, span seven Medicaid-related programs. Allegations range from fraudulent autism diagnoses and billing for services never provided to exploiting disabled individuals for government reimbursements. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, praised the indictments and highlighted his office's role in several of the investigations. "Today's charges and guilty plea are an important step in combatting fraud and protecting our tax dollars," Ellison said in a statement. "Minnesotans are a generous people, and we believe in supporting folks who need a helping hand. It boils my blood that fraudsters are taking advantage of that generosity." This is just the latest criminal charges. Federal officials also announced plans to deploy additional prosecutors to the Midwest to pursue fraud cases, which have been described as a "web" throughout Minnesota's taxpayer-funded welfare programs stealing between $9 and $20 billion. Ellison's office said investigators partnered with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in multiple cases, including investigations involving Smart Therapy Autism Center and Charles Healy Foster Home LLC. House Republican leaders also praised the indictments, but argued the cases reflect broader failures within state government under Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic leadership. House Floor Leader Harry Niska said Republicans were only able to advance reforms after ending Democrats' trifecta in 2024. "Minnesota's fraud crisis exploded on the watch of Governor Walz and legislative Democrats," Niska said. "Because of House Republicans, Minnesota now has dozens of new tools and reforms in place to help stop fraud." House Speaker Lisa Demuth added that Minnesotans "cannot become desensitized" to fraud involving taxpayer dollars. "Real Minnesotans are suffering because of a culture of fraud and lack of accountability within our agencies," she said. "House Republicans took major steps forward this session, passing new anti-fraud tools that will make a real difference. We welcome the continued and enhanced support of the federal government to truly stop fraud and preserve state programs for those who truly need them." Federal officials described the investigation as one of the largest Medicaid fraud crackdowns in Minnesota history. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald called the cases "unprecedented," saying they included "the largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the Department of Justice." Among the allegations detailed Thursday, prosecutors said some defendants improperly diagnosed children with autism and billed the government for services never delivered while paying kickbacks to parents. In another case, officials alleged two people stole $22 million from a housing support program intended to help disabled people live independently. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a press conference on Thursday that the alleged fraud endangered long-term stability of public assistance programs. "When criminals exploit these programs, taxpayers lose billions, and vulnerable children lose their access to care," Kennedy said. "If we fail to confront the fraud aggressively, these programs will not survive for future generations in the form Americans rely upon them today." McDonald said, despite the charges, more needs to be done, especially as cooperation with Minnesota leaders has "fallen significantly short." "The fraudsters are agnostic as to whose money or what program they are defrauding, they just want our money," he said. "We are seeing that the fraud is ongoing, and we are interested in rooting it out, so we are working rapidly to bring into custody everyone who is facing charges and who faces arrest warrants."