Abdirashid Ismail Said, a Somali national with ties to Kenya, has skipped court and is said to be on the run amid the ongoing $11 million (Sh1.4 billion) fraud case in Minnesota, US.
Mr Said is charged with conducting the biggest fraud scheme in Minnesota history through false Medicaid billing.
The 50-year-old Somali national was a no-show to his pretrial court hearing in Hennepin County, Minnesota. As a result of this, he has forfeited his $150,000 (Sh19 million) unconditional bond.
US authorities say a nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest. His bond had no travel restrictions, and he had his passport with him.
Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison in an official statement said: “This is a deeply frustrating setback; however, I remain committed to doing everything I can to hold Mr Said and other fraudsters accountable.”
Mr Ellison stated that Minnesota authorities are working with the federal government to locate him, with some speculating that he may have fled to Kenya where his family lives. Prosecutors in Minnesota had warned the court that they feared Mr Said was a flight risk.
A detective in the case stated in court filings that "given the nature and severity of the charges, and his familial ties outside the jurisdiction of Minnesota, I believe there is a potential Mr Said may flee, hide, or otherwise prevent the execution of the warrant."
Mr Said and his co-conspirators are charged by Minnesota's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with over billing, double billing and billing the State for services never performed. This translates into violating Minnesota law and defrauding taxpayers.
He faces 10 felony counts including theft by swindle and racketeering by providing fraudulent documentation in billing claims to the State of Minnesota, making payment claims that were not eligible for payment or billing the state for services never provided.
Each theft and racketeering charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. His charge of perjury also carries a possible 5-year prison sentence. Mr Said’s disappearance throws the State’s case into disarray.
Interestingly, Mr Said also had a previous Medicaid conviction from 2022. In this separate case, the court ordered him to pay back $77,000 (Sh10 million) and barred him from operating health agencies which use the welfare scheme.
His case comes hot on the heels of another mega million fraud case involving Somali nationals in the state of Minnesota called “Feeding our Future”. This case involved a fraudulent child food programme that defrauded the federal government of funds intended for child nutrition programs during the Cogvid-19 pandemic.
Mr Said’s case and the recent “Feeding our Future” schemes have put pressure on Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz and AG Keith Ellison over the handling of fraud in Minnesota. The cases raise concern over corruption in taxpayer funded programmes like Medicaid in Minnesota.
