XPost: alt.fraud, mn.politics, alt.politics.republicans   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: jdutton@uicu.edu   
      
   A Minnesota safety net program was so easy to scam, it attracted   
   tourists, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said Thursday.   
      
   Two Philadelphia men, Anthony Waddell Jefferson, 37, and Lester Brown,   
   53, heard that Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program was   
   “easy money,” so they traveled to Minnesota, enrolled their companies   
   into the program, returned to Philly and submitted fraudulent claims   
   from there, Thompson said in a news conference announcing charges   
   against the two men and several others. They obtained $3.5 million in   
   Medicaid payments through this “fraud tourism,” Thompson said.   
      
   The extent of fraud in Minnesota human services programs — which has   
   become infamous across the country — is even higher than the public   
   knew.   
      
   Providers in 14 “high-risk,” state-run Medicaid programs being audited   
   by the state have billed $18 billion since 2018, and “half or more” is   
   possibly fraudulent, Thompson said.   
      
   “The fraud is not small. It isn’t isolated. The magnitude cannot be   
   overstated,” Thompson said. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful   
   of bad actors committing crimes. It’s a staggering, industrial-scale   
   fraud. It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we   
   know about our state.”   
      
   It’s unclear how much of the $18 billion in the 14 Medicaid services   
   comes from state taxpayer dollars; around 36% of all Minnesota Medicaid   
   dollars comes from the state, while the rest is funded by the federal   
   government.   
      
   Federal prosecutors also charged three other individuals who allegedly   
   defrauded House Stabilization Services and two individuals for   
   defrauding an autism treatment program called Early Intensive   
   Development and Behavior Intervention. Federal prosecutors have already   
   charged eight people in HSS and one person for defrauding the autism   
   program.   
      
   The Department of Human Services in August shut down the Housing   
   Stabilization Services, citing “credible allegations of fraud.”   
      
   In a statement, DHS Inspector General James Clark called Thompson’s   
   “speculation” that at least half of the $18 billion is fraudulent   
   “shocking.”   
      
   “I’ve previously sent letters to the U.S. Attorney’s Office asking them   
   to share evidence of fraud and I’m requesting a meeting immediately to   
   discuss how we can partner to stop criminals now,” Clark said.   
      
   Messaging from temporary DHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi didn’t mention   
   the gap in evidence between state and federal investigators.   
      
   “I am grateful for the U.S. Attorney’s actions to prosecute criminals   
   attacking and stealing from Minnesota’s programs,” said Gandhi in a   
   statement preceding Clark’s. “We will continue to support their efforts   
   by sharing any data and information we have that can hold these   
   criminals accountable.”   
      
   Thompson said that there’s no indication that fraudsters have sent money   
   to terrorist groups, contrary to a November article saying that   
   Minnesota taxpayer dollars have funded the Somali terrorist group   
   al-Shabaab — a claim that has led to President Donald Trump’s current   
   attacks on Minnesota’s Somali-American community.   
      
   Thompson added that money from fraud could have indirectly ended up in   
   the hands of al-Shabaab, which taxes businesses in the areas of Somalia   
   it controls.   
      
   New federal investigation into fraud in disability program   
   Federal agents raided the Bloomington office of another provider,   
   Ultimate Home Health Services, Thursday morning, executing a search   
   warrant that is the first indication of a federal investigation into   
   Integrated Community Supports, another state-run Medicaid program.   
      
   Integrated Community Supports started in 2021 and is designed to help   
   disabled adults live more independently in apartments rather than in an   
   institution. The program is vulnerable to fraud and has seen soaring   
   cost increases since it began, paying out $170 million in 2024 compared   
   to $4.6 million in 2021, according to the search warrant filed by the   
   feds.   
      
   The ongoing federal investigation found that, instead of providing   
   services, many Integrated Community Supports providers simply rented   
   apartments to Medicaid recipients and billed the program for services   
   they didn’t provide, Thompson said. The program allows providers to bill   
   hundreds of dollars a day, often adding up to $100,000 to $200,000 a   
   year, per client, he said.   
      
   Ultimate Home Health Services billed the program $1.1 million between   
   June 2024 and August 2025 for services for multiple individuals it   
   didn’t provide, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney   
   General’s office and the search warrant.   
      
   The search warrant also referenced a KARE 11 report from November about   
   a man found dead in the care of Ultimate Home Health Services in March.   
   Though the provider was billing DHS for 12 hours of one-on-one care for   
   the man, an employee of Ultimate told St. Paul Police that he only   
   checked on him once a day.   
      
   Following the report, the Department of Human Services suspended   
   Ultimate Home Health Services’ payments and license in December, citing   
   that the agency found in October that Ultimate Home Health wasn’t   
   adequately providing services and failed to properly report cases of   
   maltreatment and the death of a person.   
      
   As of late November, DHS has withheld payments to more than 17   
   Integrated Community Supports providers suspected of fraud or affiliated   
   with allegedly fraudulent providers, according to a statement at the   
   time from DHS. Amid DHS’s effort to crack down on fraud in the Medicaid   
   program, attorneys for program recipients have criticized the state   
   agency for neglecting its responsibilities toward disabled people who   
   depend on the program for critical services.   
      
   The Thursday raid drew the attention of immigrant rights activists, who   
   have been closely tracking Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.   
   Many responded to the scene of the raid, but the majority dispersed   
   after it became apparent that the activity was not immigration-related.   
      
   A handful of observers watched as agents loaded boxes of evidence into   
   vans, leaving behind a broken office door window and damaged door frame.   
      
   Democrats’ response   
   Fraud has roiled Minnesota politics in recent years and it will continue   
   to dominate headlines through the midterm elections. Shortly before   
   Thursday’s press conference, Gov. Tim Walz and House and Senate   
   Democrats criticized the House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight   
   Committee for “playing politics” with fraud.   
      
   During a fraud committee hearing Wednesday Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple   
   Grove, alleged that DHS paid state money to a defendant in the Feeding   
   Our Future case through the assisted living program while they were   
   awaiting trial.   
      
   Democrats criticized her for presenting her allegations in a public   
   forum rather than going to state investigators.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)