Overview
- Federal prosecutors unsealed indictments Thursday charging 15 people and named Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf in a $46.6 million scheme to defraud Minnesota’s EIDBI autism program, with court papers saying about $21.2 million was actually paid out.
- The filings allege Hassan and Yusuf paid monthly cash kickbacks labeled with the code word "computer" by routing checks through staff and family members so parents would enroll children at Star Autism Center and Smart Therapy Center.
- Authorities say the centers billed Medicaid for intensive autism services that were not rendered and for grossly inflated meal claims, and both Star Autism and Smart Therapy had their Minnesota licenses revoked earlier this year.
- Prosecutors allege defendants diverted fraud proceeds into personal purchases and transfers, including a Freightliner truck purchase, large wire transfers and real estate bought in Kenya, and one suspect briefly attempted to flee before being captured.
- The case is part of a wider federal sweep into more than $90 million in alleged fraud across high‑risk state programs such as Housing Stabilization Services and Individualized Home Supports, a pattern officials say highlights rapid EIDBI spending growth and gaps in oversight that the DOJ plans to address with an expanded Midwest fraud strike force.