DOJ’s Fraud Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District Minnesota Uncover Voter Fraud and Nearly $30M in Benefits Fraud in Enforcement Surge

The Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division), and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced a series of enforcement actions targeting fraud involving taxpayer-funded Medicaid and SNAP programs.

Between Sept. 30, and today, the Fraud Division and the District of Minnesota have charged, convicted, or sentenced 13 defendants whose alleged or proven schemes caused nearly $83 million in intended losses to the federal government, including approximately $29.1 million in fraud uncovered in the newly charged cases. This effort is a result of a partnership between prosecutors from DOJ's Fraud Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office. This year alone, the DOJ has issued over 1,000 subpoenas and executed over 40 premises warrants for the purpose of uncovering fraud in Minnesota.

"Minnesota is the epicenter for fraud in America," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. "The Trump administration's crackdown is working, and the results speak for themselves. Through the Minnesota Fraud Task Force we are systematically dismantling schemes preying on Americans. Backed by more than a thousand subpoenas and 40 warrants, the message is simple: No one stealing from taxpayer-funded programs is safe."

"The alarming concentration of fraud targeting taxpayer-funded programs in Minnesota demands a coordinated and sustained response," said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division. "We are working with our law enforcement partners to uncover alleged fraud, protect public funds, and hold offenders accountable. We will continue these efforts until these schemes are dismantled and taxpayer dollars are protected from abuse in Minnesota."

"The cases highlighted today represent my office's unwavering commitment to protect the integrity of taxpayer-funded programs," said U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen for the District of Minnesota. "These defendants stole money meant for the vulnerable, and they will be brought to justice."

Charges

Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim, 54, of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, was arrested on Sept. 30, after spending nearly 10 months as a fugitive in Kenya. On Sept. 29, Ibrahim was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering in connection with his role in a $1.1 million dollar scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program through Feeding Our Future. For four months, Ibrahim and his co-conspirators claimed to be serving more than 3,000 meals to children every day, in the small town of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota through Bilaal Mosque in Pelican Rapids, and another 3,000 meals per day at the Multicultural Resource Center in Moorhead, Minnesota. As part of the scheme, Bilaal and MRC submitted fake meal counts and rosters to Feeding Our Future. After receiving more than $1.1 million in reimbursements through Feeding Our Future, Ibrahim laundered his share of the proceeds through large check payments to himself and his son, as well as the purchase of a property in Kenya and a car. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Minnesota Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy, and Austin L. Bowyer and investigated by FBI, IRS-CI, and USPIS.

Emily Marice Ravits, 74, of Tucson, Arizona, was charged by indictment on Oct. 22, with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make false statements related to health care matters and six counts of false statements relating to heath care matters in connection with a $7.7 million scheme to interfere with the lawful government functions of HHS and CMS in their administration and oversight of Medicaid. As alleged in the indictment, Emily Marice Ravits was a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Qualified Supervising Professional (QSP) in Minnesota. In that role, she agreed to serve as the QSP for multiple providers of autism therapy without actually performing the duties required of QSPs and permitting providers to submit claims for services that were not performed or that were not properly reimbursable and submit false certifications on individual treatment plans to justify the continuation of autism therapy services. As a result, false and fraudulent claims were submitted Medicaid for EIDBI autism therapy by providers for services that were not actually eligible for reimbursement. This case is being jointly prosecuted by the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota and investigated by FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI.

Feisal Mohamed Elmi, 46, of New Brighton, Minnesota, was charged by indictment on Oct. 22, with eleven counts of health care fraud, in connection with a $8.2 million scheme to defraud the Minnesota Medicaid EIDBI autism therapy program. As alleged in the indictment, Feisal Mohamed Elmi submitted fraudulent claims to the Minnesota EIDBI program by billing for services that were not rendered and for services purportedly provided by employees while they were traveling and located outside of the United States. In addition, almost every claim was billed at the same amount regardless of the service provided or the number of hours of service provided. This case is being jointly prosecuted by the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota and investigated by FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI.

Habiba Mohamed, 58, of Coon Rapids, Minnesota was charged by information on Oct. 29, with conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with a $19.1 million scheme to defraud the Minnesota Medicaid EIDBI autism therapy program. As alleged in the information, Habiba Mohamed and her co-conspirators (previously charged by indictment) submitted fraudulent claims related to the EIDBI program and she, personally, paid kickbacks to the parents of Medicaid recipients in exchange for being able to submit claims for services. This case is being jointly prosecuted by the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota and investigated by FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI.

Faiza Osman Ahmed, 41, of Richfield, Minnesota, was charged by indictment on Oct. 28, with six counts of health care fraud in connection with an approximately $10 million scheme to defraud multiple Minnesota Medicaid programs. As alleged in the indictment, Faiza Osman Ahmed submitted fraudulent claims related to the Minnesota Individualized Home Supports, Personal Care Assistance, and Night Supervision programs. She did so by, among other things, billing for services that were not rendered and for services purportedly provided recipients in their homes while they were traveling, while providers were actually working other jobs, and for recipients who never got the billed-for services. This case is being jointly prosecuted by the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota and investigated by FBI, HHS-OIG, VA-OIG, HSI, and the State of Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Jama Yusuf Mohamod, 68, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, was charged by indictment on Oct. 28, with eight counts of health care fraud in connection with a scheme to submit approximately $3.2 million in fraudulent claims to the Minnesota Medicaid Integrated Community Supports Program. As alleged in the indictment, Jama Yusuf Mohamed submitted fraudulent claims related to the Minnesota ICS program. He did so by, among other things, billing for services that were not rendered and for services purportedly provided recipients in their homes while they were traveling. He also used Super Intelligence to create fake patient notes to justify his claims. This case is being jointly prosecuted by the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota.

Ahmed Abdul Razaq Al Obaidi, 49, of Blaine, Minnesota, and Muhammad Abdullah Kahn, were charged on Oct. 21, by complaint with knowingly and unlawfully transferring SNAP benefits. The charges resulted from joint USDA-OIG and Homeland Security Operation Cold SNAP, which identified local businesses engaged in fraudulent use and trafficking of SNAP benefits, during which AK Tobacco LLC was identified as a location involved in cash trafficking of EBT benefits. Minnesota business records identified Al Obaidi as the manager of AK Tobacco, LLC, and investigators also identified Muhammad Abdullah Kahn as a clerk associated with the store. Al Obaidi was identified as engaging in EBT/SNAP benefit fraud and was arrested on Oct. 21. This case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph S. Teirab and investigated by USDA-OIG and HSI.

Convictions

Muna Wais Fidhin, 45, of Savage, Minnesota, was found guilty of three counts of wire fraud, four counts of federal programs bribery, and two counts of money laundering on Oct. 21, after a three-week jury trial. As evidenced at trial, between October 2020 and February 2022, Fidhin participated in a scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the sponsorship of both Feeding Our Future and Partners in Nutrition. Fidhin submitted fake meal counts and food invoices to Feeding Our Future, claiming to have served 500 meals, 7 days per week, out of her food site M5 Café - a small hallway café at the M Health Fairview Burnsville Clinic. She also paid $26,000 in bribes to Feeding Our Future employee Abdikerm Eidleh to facilitate her participation in the scheme. Later, Fidhin created a second fraudulent food site, M5 Care, which participated in the food program through Partners in Nutrition. Fidhin claimed to have served over 337,000 meals in nine months, entitling her to nearly $1 million dollars in reimbursement. As evidenced at trial, Fidhin spent the fraud proceeds to pay off the mortgage on her house in Savage, to send money overseas, and to pay off her Lexus SUV. Fidhin will be sentenced at a later date. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Minnesota Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy, and Austin L. Bowyer and investigated by FBI, IRS-CI, and USPIS.

Nicole Lee Slegers, 48, and Shaun Hubert Slegers, 37, both of Arcos, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank on Oct. 28. According to court documents, from approximately June 2021 through March 2023, they conspired to devise and carry out a scheme to defraud the estates of recently deceased recipients of Minnesota's Medicaid program. Nicole Slegers, who worked in various roles at Southwest HHS from 2018 through 2023, used her position to fraudulently obtain vehicles by falsely telling authorized representatives that the vehicles would be sold and credited to the recipients' accounts. Nicole and Shaun Slegers intimidated and harassed grieving family members to induce quick transfers, gaining approximately $144,524 through fraudulent transfers of at least 14 vehicles and forging signatures to transfer titles. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Rebecca E. Kline and investigated by the FBI.

Sentences

Salim Ahmed Said, 37, of Plymouth Minnesota, was sentenced to 360 months in prison on Oct. 28, by United States District Judge Nancy E. Brasel, in connection with his role in the $250 million scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program through Feeding Our Future. After a six-week jury trial in early 2025, Said (along with his co-defendant, Aimee Bock) was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, eight counts of bribery, one count conspiracy to commit money laundering and five counts of money laundering. As proven at trial, Said's Safari Restaurant enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future in April 2020. By July 2020, Said fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to 5,000 children per day, seven days a week. In total, Said claimed to have served over 3.9 million meals to children from the Safari Restaurant food site between April 2020 and November 2021. Said also claimed that Safari Restaurant provided more than 2.2 million meals to other food sites involved in Feeding Our Future's fraud scheme. Said and his co-conspirators created numerous shell companies to enroll in the program as food program sites, and to receive and launder the proceeds of their fraudulent scheme. In total, Said facilitated over $44 million in fraud proceeds through the Federal Child Nutrition Program. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Minnesota Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy, and Austin L. Bowyer and investigated by FBI, IRS-CI, and USPIS.

SaidFarah, 44, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was sentenced to 78 months and a $40k fine in prison on Oct. 30, for bribery of a juror. Beginning in April 2024, Farah and several co-defendants were on trial in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota for various fraud and money laundering charges stemming from a widespread scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The day after closing arguments in the fraud trial, Farah and his co-conspirators attempted to bribe one of the jurors. Farah helped gather $200,000 in cash, which a co-conspirator delivered to the juror's home along with a message that the juror would receive more money if she voted to acquit Farah and his co-defendants. The juror immediately reported the attempted bribe to law enforcement. The following morning, the bribe attempt was discussed in open court and the Court ordered Farah and his co-defendants to surrender their phones to law enforcement. Before surrendering his phone, however, Farah deleted incriminating text messages. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Minnesota Rebecca E. Kline, Matthew C. Murphy, and Austin L. Bowyer and investigated by FBI, IRS-CI, and USPIS.

Forfeiture

Three real properties, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, valued at approximately $519,000, were encumbered through the lis pendens and named as defendants in a civil forfeiture action filed on Oct. 19, identifying each as having been purchased with proceeds from the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

Law Enforcement Partners Participation:

FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), IRS-CI, HSI, USPIS, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

In May, the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Strike Force charged 15 defendants as part of the largest Medicaid fraud takedown in state history. The Strike Force also joined four cases previously charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Since then, 16 defendants have been convicted. In addition, over the past 110 days alone, courts have imposed approximately 550 months of imprisonment on defendants involved in Minnesota fraud schemes, including those charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the unprecedented Feeding Our Future investigations. Since August, the Fraud Division, including the Health Care Strike Force and Minnesota Fraud Task Force, has also actively investigated a wide range of fraud matters, using every available tool to identify wrongdoing, hold offenders accountable, and advance dozens of ongoing investigations.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

An indictment, information, or complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.