Federal prosecutors unveiled sweeping new charges Thursday against 15 defendants in Minnesota, accusing them of looting more than $90 million from taxpayer-funded Medicaid programs in what officials described as a massive new chapter in the state’s sprawling Somali fraud scandal.
The Department of Justice announced the cases during a press conference led by Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, just hours after Feeding Our Future figure Aimee Bock was sentenced to more than 41 years in prison for her role in a separate $250 million pandemic fraud scheme that rocked Minnesota.
Many of the defendants charged in the latest cases are Somali or Somali-American, according to charging documents and court records tied to the investigation.
Federal officials signaled the new indictments are part of a much broader push to crack down on what prosecutors say has become systemic fraud across multiple Minnesota public assistance programs.
“Let me be clear upfront about something: This is not the end of our work in Minnesota,” McDonald said. “This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota. The fraud here in Minnesota is shocking.”
According to prosecutors, the new cases involve seven Minnesota-administered Medicaid programs that were allegedly drained by fraudsters exploiting taxpayer-funded services intended for vulnerable residents.
McDonald pointed to Minnesota’s housing stabilization services program as one of the clearest examples. The initiative was designed to help homeless residents secure stable housing, but prosecutors say spending exploded under deeply suspicious circumstances.
The program was projected to cost roughly $2.5 million annually when it launched in 2020. By 2024, costs had ballooned past $104 million.
“One of the programs has been completely shut down because there’s no money left: It’s all gone,” McDonald said.
He added that the program was terminated in 2025 and said, “These services no longer exist for these vulnerable homeless populations.”
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Federal officials also highlighted explosive spending increases in other Medicaid-backed programs, including an autism services initiative that prosecutors say surged from about $600,000 six years ago to more than $400 million.
“That number is not driven by supply and demand,” McDonald said. “It is not driven by healthcare or charity. It is fraud.”
The DOJ said the alleged schemes targeted more than $90 million in taxpayer funds, though officials suggested the broader scale of fraud in Minnesota may be dramatically larger.
When asked about previous estimates from former U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson suggesting fraud losses across Minnesota programs could total $9 billion, McDonald said investigators would not be surprised if the true figure ultimately meets or exceeds that number.
“The fraud is enormous,” McDonald said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that number is accurate or even small.”
He stressed that investigators are prioritizing individual criminal cases before calculating the full statewide losses.
“I don’t have the exact number, because what I do is I look at individual people committing individual crimes,” McDonald continued. “And at the end of all of our work, we’ll tally it all up and we’ll tell you exactly how much was stolen from the American people.
“We’re focused on individual defendants.”
The DOJ also announced a major expansion of its healthcare fraud enforcement operation in Minnesota. Officials said 11 strike force prosecutors have already been deployed into the state, while a newly expanded Medicaid fraud strike force will add 15 prosecutors who can pursue cases nationwide.
Thursday’s announcement came as the fallout from the Feeding Our Future scandal continues to intensify. Bock’s sentencing marked one of the largest fraud punishments in state history, but federal officials made clear they believe far more fraud remains uncovered.
“This is not the end of the beginning,” McDonald said during the press conference. “This is the beginning.”
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