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Suspect in $11 Million Minnesota Medicaid Case Skips Hearing, Triggering Warrant

State prosecutors now seek him with federal help in what they call their largest Medicaid‑fraud case.

Overview

  • Abdirashid Ismail Said failed to appear for a pretrial hearing this week, and a Hennepin County judge issued a warrant and canceled the April jury trial.
  • He forfeited a $150,000 unconditional bond that did not require surrendering his passport, and investigators had warned of flight risk due to family ties overseas, including a spouse in Nairobi.
  • Said faces racketeering, perjury, and aiding and abetting theft by swindle tied to nearly $11 million in Medicaid billing through three home-care firms despite a 2022 fraud conviction that barred him from Medicaid work.
  • State filings allege the agencies billed for care not provided or not documented, including about $997,000 for clients who denied services, roughly $300,000 in overbilling, and millions more backed by missing or falsified records.
  • Two co-defendants remain charged as the Attorney General’s Office coordinates with federal partners to find Said and pursues related prosecutions with potential additional charges in the broader fraud probe.