Bessent, Patel Come to St. Cloud to Announce Minnesota Fraud Arrests

(KNSI) – Top Trump administration officials came to St. Cloud Friday to announce four new arrests in Minnesota’s Medicaid fraud investigations and new efforts to claw back stolen taxpayer money, including a move to seize homes allegedly bought with fraud proceeds.

FBI Director Kash Patel said agents served 17 search warrants Thursday, including at three child care centers, leading to a 26-count indictment in what he called schemes to take more than $41 million from Medicaid.

According to federal officials, Feisal Elmi of Aspen Associates faces 11 counts of health care fraud tied to $8 million in intended loss. Jama Mohamod of American Home Health Care faces six counts tied to $3.27 million. Faiza Ahmed of Home Sweet Home faces eight counts tied to $10 million, and Habiba Mohamed of Smart Therapy faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States tied to nearly $20 million.

“We are going to continue working with our state and local partners and the interagency to dismantle, disrupt, and take down fraud networks wherever they are, in Minnesota right here in St. Cloud and everywhere else in the country,” said Patel.

Assistant Attorney General for National Fraud Enforcement Colin McDonald said prosecutors filed last week to seize three Minneapolis properties worth about $519,000, which they say were bought with money meant to feed children. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department is tracking money sent overseas and expects more recoveries from the people at the top of these networks in the coming months.

Patel, Bessent and McDonald were joined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson.

Bessent said the group came to St. Cloud at the suggestion of a local assistant U.S. attorney, but wouldn’t say whether any businesses under investigation are in the area.

“The fact that we are here should make you think that the greater region and the greater area here, that the task force is very interested in what’s going on in this area.”

People with tips can report them at America.gov/fraud, which launched earlier this month. Tips that lead to criminal charges can earn rewards of up to $30,000.

President Trump formed the fraud task force in March, citing fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs. “I would say that we are at ground zero per capita, given the population of Minnesota and this fraud that we’ve seen,” said Bessent.

Jake Judd/KNSI News

Oz pointed to the Minnesota Housing Stabilization Services program, which helped seniors and people with disabilities find and keep stable housing. He said the program grew from about $2.5 million to more than $100 million in four years.

“This Housing Stabilization Program, which everyone on this stage thinks has merit, was shut down because of fraudsters like Sharmaine Meadows.”

A federal jury convicted Meadows Thursday of stealing about $3.6 million from the program by billing for services that were never provided. The people the program served no longer have that help.

In the Feeding Our Future case, which stole money meant to feed children during the pandemic, Patel said 81 people have been charged and 70 convicted. McDonald said 14 Minnesota fraud defendants have been sentenced to a combined 82 years in prison in roughly the past four months.

“This is still the beginning of our work in Minnesota. We will be here for as long as it takes to punish the wrongdoers in Minnesota,” said McDonald.

Bessent blamed Governor Tim Walz’s administration and Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office for a lack of oversight. Asked about a Senate Democratic report accusing the task force of targeting Democratic-led states, Bessent said states like Florida and Texas have substantial fraud too, but argued safeguards tend to be weakest in states led by Democrats.

Vice President JD Vance, who leads the White House fraud task force, canceled his visit late Thursday.

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