Ernst Adds Fraudsters to the No Fly List

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is cracking down on fugitive fraudsters flying high on taxpayer dollars and trying to turn their schemes into international getaways. Ernst's Preventing Fugitive Fraudsters Act would require scammers indicted for fraud, money laundering, and public corruption offenses to surrender their passports and abstain from international travel as a condition of pretrial release.

"Fraudsters who rob taxpayers shouldn't get a vacation abroad while awaiting trial," said Ernst. "I'm slamming the door on scammers trying to flee the country and dodge accountability. Anyone ripping off hardworking Americans won't be needing a passport to reach their final destination, which is behind bars."

Here are a few of the fugitive fraudsters fleeing justice, and the country:

• The mastermind behind Minnesota's largest Medicaid scam was allowed to keep his passport and disappeared after posting bail. Detectives warned the court that serial fraudster Abdirashid Ismail Said, who stole nearly $11 million, had family in Kenya, and would probably flee. A judge allowed him to keep his passport anyway. As predicted, Said skipped his court appearance, and most likely left the country.

• Another fugitive fraudster who stole more than a million dollars from Minnesota's Medicaid program took off overseas when investigators caught onto his scheme. Kaamil Omar Sallah is accused of submitting $1.4 million in fraudulent claims for housing services and spending the money on crypto. After being subpoenaed, he fled to Amsterdam.

• Two fugitive fraudsters were just added to the FBI's "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list. Khalid Ahmed Satary, who was part of a $547 million health care fraud scheme, is believed to be hiding in the United Arab Emirates. Emylee Thai stole nearly $100 million from Medicare and may now be in Vietnam.

Read the bill here.

Background:

Ernst has long fought to root out government waste, fraud, and abuse and successfully led the Senate to pass her SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act, extending the window for holding COVID fraudsters accountable and recovering taxpayers' hard-earned dollars, as well as her bipartisan Stop Secret Spending Act, that requires public disclosure of tens of billions of dollars in secret spending deals.

Recently, Ernst unveiled a comprehensive anti-fraud legislative package, the Protecting American Taxpayers Act, that, if enacted, would recover stolen funds, protect taxpayer dollars, and stop fraudsters.

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