Overview
- Anthony Waddell Jefferson, 37, and Lester Brown, 53, admitted to one count of wire fraud tied to roughly $3.5 million in false or inflated Housing Stabilization Services claims for about 230 Medicaid beneficiaries.
- They traveled from Philadelphia to Minneapolis, formed Chozen Runner LLC and Retsel Real Estate LLC, rented downtown office space, and recruited clients at shelters and Section 8 housing as “The Housing Guys.”
- When asked to substantiate bills, the defendants fabricated emails and used ChatGPT to generate client notes to mask services that were not provided.
- Each plea carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, sentencing will be set by a judge, and authorities are seeking restitution and forfeiture totaling about $3.5 million.
- Federal officials say the case is part of a broader, multiagency crackdown on Minnesota program fraud, as the Medicaid-funded HSS program saw spending jump from roughly $27.7 million in 2021 to more than $100 million in 2024 before the state shut it down over fraud concerns.