Dr Abdullahi Ali.
A University of Nairobi alumnus who was born in Somalia, grew up in the Dadaab Refugee Camp and later got United States citizenship is facing a House of Representatives investigation over alleged fraud.
Dr Abdullahi Ali’s data is being scrutinised by a committee in America’s lower house as part of a graft probe. He is the founder and CEO of Gateway Community Services, a healthcare firm based in the US state of Maine that was last month suspended from receiving government funds pending investigations. This is how US media covered Ali's case:
Maine DHHS suspends payments to Gateway Community Services after audit reveals $1 million overpayment.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has suspended payments to Gateway Community Services after a third audit of the non-profit organisation revealed it was overpaid more than $1 million (Sh128.9 million) by the state.
On Tuesday January 13, a DHHS spokesperson informed 8 Investigates that the Office of MaineCare Services’ Programme Integrity Unit had launched the audit in January 2023 in response to internal data analytics.
The review found Gateway Community Services was overpaid $1,068,598 from March 2021 through December 2022.
An attorney representing Gateway Community Services confirmed in an email to 8 Investigates that the organisation received a new notice from the Programme Integrity Unit indicating that the non-profit’s MaineCare reimbursements were paused over assertions of improper billing for interpreter services.
- WMTW TV (January 13, 2026)
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State audit, federal probe raises questions about fraud by Gateway Community Services in Maine
There are two separate but related entities at the centre of an expanding investigation into alleged Medicaid fraud in Maine: Gateway Community Services LLC – a company – and Gateway Community Services Maine, its non-profit.
Only the LLC is under investigation for possible Medicaid fraud following a state audit.
However, Republican lawmakers say the connection between the two organisations goes beyond a similar name, pointing to shared leadership history and addresses.
“I believe what we have uncovered is only scratching the surface of fraud in Maine,” Maine Senator Matt Harrington said during a December 30, 2025 press conference.
Both Gateway entities were founded in 2016 by Abdullahi Ali, a Somali refugee who resettled in Maine around 2009. While they are legally distinct, the organisations share a founder and address: one on Canal Street in Lewiston and another on Forest Avenue in Portland.
According to the company’s attorney, Ali is no longer involved with the non-profit.
The lawyer also said the non-profit and the company do not share staff, and while they share addresses, the non-profit rents space from the company.
Last week, the Maine DHHS released documents showing it is investigating a “credible allegation of fraud” against Gateway Community Services LLC.
- News Center Maine (December 31, 2025)
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Feds probe ‘Little Mogadishu’ locations linked to alleged Somali Medicaid fraud, gun crimes in Lewiston
Dozens of federal agents working with the US Department of Homeland Security probed multiple locations in Lewiston on Tuesday December 30 that have been associated with Somali fraud allegations and gun theft charges.
The investigation into Gateway could become particularly problematic for Maine Democrats – and not just because several Democratic officials and appointees have direct ties to the embattled organisations.
Gateway has also come to play an influential role in turning out migrant voters for Democrats with the Community Organising Alliance (COA), an organisation Gateway’s CEO and several top employees created prior to (Maine) Governor (Janet) Mills’ 2022 re-election fight with former Republican Governor Paul LePage, and shortly after receiving six-figures of federally funded cash via a no-bid contract from the Mills Administration.
- The Maine Wire (December 31, 2025)
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State suspends MaineCare payments to Portland provider over suspected fraud
The DHHS is suspending MaineCare provider payments to Gateway Community Services over suspected fraud.
A spokesperson for DHHS said the move follows a recently completed and previously unreported audit in which the Portland-based provider was found to have overbilled MaineCare by more than $1 million.
The spokesperson also said that suspending MaineCare payments is imposed when there is suspected fraud, a determination that also triggers a referral to the Office of Attorney-General for an investigation.
A spokesperson for the Office of Attorney-General would not confirm that it’s investigating Gateway.
Nevertheless, the new developments will bring fresh scrutiny for a company already under the microscope for two previously released audits that showed it overbilled MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid programme, by more than $660,000.
The two previous audits were completed in 2018 and 2024.
The third audit was initiated in 2023, according to DHHS.
The company’s billing for interpreter services, services not covered by MaineCare, and a failure to properly document services provided were among the “serious” irregularities identified in the latest audit.
- Maine Public (December 23, 2025)
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Somali American man in Maine accused of defrauding US government
The centre of the alleged scheme, this time in Maine, is Dr Abdullahi Ali, the Executive Director of Health Services contractor Gateway Community Services.
In an interview with NewsNation, a whistleblower alleged that, for years, false records were filed for services that were never provided.
Christopher Bernardini, who worked for Gateway for years, said the agency was then reimbursed with tax dollars from Maine’s Medicaid programme, and later with federal tax dollars from the Paycheck Protection Programme.
But that’s not all.
While serving in his role in Maine, Ali was also running for President of Jubaland, in Africa, where he boasted to a Kenyan media outlet that he helped raise funds for the Jubaland Somali army, to help the troops buy weapons, bullets and food, according to a video posted on The Maine Wire website.
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- Fox 5 News (December 10, 2025)
