Overview
- Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, 27, admitted to one count of wire fraud tied to $6 million in false EIDBI/Medicaid claims submitted through St. Cloud-based Star Autism Center.
- Prosecutors say the operation recruited children from Minnesota’s Somali community, used unqualified teenage staff, and paid parents cash kickbacks to drive enrollment and billing.
- Court records detail more than $6 million in reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Human Services and UCare, with proceeds including a $100,000 semi-truck purchase and $200,000 sent to Kenya.
- The FBI searched Star Autism in 2024 alongside Smart Therapy Center, whose operator has already pleaded guilty in a separate $14 million case linked to the broader Feeding Our Future probe.
- No sentencing date has been set for Yussuf, and prosecutors indicate additional co-conspirators could face charges as state and federal oversight of EIDBI providers intensifies.