House Minority Leader Demuth Says Autism Therapy Center Fraud Report A “Bombshell”

(KNSI) – Minnesota House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) is demanding answers after what she calls a bombshell report on fraud at autism therapy centers was published Tuesday.

The Minnesota Reformer says attempts by a supervisor at Smart Therapy in Minneapolis to blow the whistle on waste and abuse at the site were ignored by state government agencies. It published excerpts of an email sent to the Minnesota Department of Human Services where the anonymous woman warned, “Clients aren’t learning anything from this agency. This agency will do anything to keep clients from going to other centers to seek the additional assistance they require or need.”

Federal investigators are now looking into allegations of potential Medicaid fraud. Autism centers in the state saw a 3,000% increase in payments received since 2018. The number of sites boomed by about 700%.

Representative Demuth linked the problem to other fraud cases that have come to light in the past four years, including the Feeding Our Future scandal. “Governor Walz has presided over unprecedented levels of fraud and waste in state government, leading to billions of tax dollars lost to criminals. As his administration refuses to put measures in place to protect Minnesota taxpayers, today’s report details how they ignored good-faith efforts by whistleblowers to alert officials of questionable business practices by providers.

“This lack of oversight has led to serious consequences not only for taxpayers, but also for children and families who have received inadequate services described in news reports as ‘horrific’.”

The Minnesota Reformer article says the whistleblower elevated her concerns to the DHS Office of Inspector General. She received no follow-up, and the office did not refer any complaint for prosecution.

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