Minnesota $1 billion fraud scheme used fake addresses, Fox finds

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – As a large fraud scheme continues to unfold in Minnesota that’s costing state and federal taxpayers a minimum of $1 billion {dollars}, Fox Information Digital visited a number of places that obtained funding by way of applications like Feeding Our Future and found a number of inconsistencies that uncovered the depth of the scandal.

The now notorious Griggs-Midway Building In line with Appearing U.S. Legal professional Joseph H. Thompson, there was an “uncommon focus” of fraudulent entities concerned within the HSS scheme.

At this one location, 22 ‘corporations’ affiliated with the HSS program had been registered. Thompson described these entities as “purely fictitious corporations created solely to cheat the system.”

These 22 fraudulent corporations collectively billed Medicaid as a lot as $8 million between January 2024 and Might 2025.

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An in-person investigation by Fox Information Digital into the constructing, positioned in St. Paul, Minnesota, revealed that enormous parts of the south facet of the constructing had been fully deserted. Atop the “Griggs-Halfway Constructing” signal was a black and white banner promoting open areas within the constructing.

On the entrance of the constructing a number of males had been sitting collectively and speaking to one another. When contacted, the lads advised Fox Information Digital they didn’t converse English.

Nonetheless, on the west facet of the constructing, the primary flooring housed a lot of apparently legit companies, together with a hair salon, a monetary assist and mortgage service for African immigrants, and a property administration workplace.

The Griggs-Halfway constructing has grow to be a focus of the HSS fraud scandal in Minnesota. (Nikolas Lanum/Fox Information Digital)

After in depth FBI investigations into the constructing, the Minnesota Division of Human Providers performed roughly 40 investigations into service suppliers related to the bigger Griggs-Halfway constructing.

Good Minds Providers allegedly submitted greater than $2.3 million of the $8 million in fraudulent claims from the Griggs-Halfway location, which was one of many state’s high billing HSS suppliers final 12 months.

4 defendants, Moktar Hassan Aden, 30; Mustafa Dayib Ali, 29; Khalid Ahmed Dayib, 26; Abdifitah Mohamud Mohamed, 27, was charged within the fraud case. Mohamed was the proprietor of one of many different fraudulent corporations concerned, Basis First Providers LLC.

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One other false declare location took Fox Information Digital to a second flooring above a sushi store simply blocks from the Mississippi River.

The doorway was blocked off and it was unclear whether or not the fraudster was merely utilizing the handle to keep up distance, or if the fraudster was truly on the unit quantity listed on the declare.

The second flooring confirmed little signal of life. Though one window had an indication studying ‘No kings, no fascists’, overlooking the snowy metropolis avenue.

A big uniform brown-brick constructing often known as “Winsor Plaza” was the subsequent vacation spot on Fox Information Digital’s trek by way of a threatening snowstorm in Minnesota.

The constructing’s easy, box-like form was centered by a purple cover that prolonged from the constructing’s most important entrance. A whitewater tower with “Roseville” painted in purple letters rose by way of the mist within the distance. Inside was a listing of dozens of legit companies, together with physician’s places of work and wealth administration providers.

A search by way of the quiet halls of 1935 W County Highway gave method to confusion. Unit 150, the workplace area talked about within the false declare, was nowhere to be seen. It turned out that the suite merely didn’t exist within the constructing’s present configuration. Not solely was the declare fraudulent, however so was the handle.

The same state of affairs occurred at 9120 Baltimore St N. The declare report famous that the fraudulent entity was working out of suite 100. Upon arrival, 9120 was seen tied to a stone pillar within the heart of a enterprise parking zone.

Nonetheless, there was no conglomeration of workplace areas or condominium items, no numbers stamped on completely different storefronts. Just one distinctive, operational dental follow. One other apparently fraudulent handle.

NorthPark Dental in Blaine, Minnesota seems to be a legit, working firm. There is no such thing as a Unit 100 at this location, indicating that the alleged fraud entity supplied a false handle. (Nikolas Lanum/Fox Information Digital)

The pattern was damaged on the subsequent two places.

2756 Douglas Dr N is a business handle in Crystal, Minnesota, residence to corporations similar to Rock Bridge Counseling & Psychological Well being and All Type Portray & Cleansing, which supply providers to teenagers in disaster and residential enchancment.

These two corporations included the constructing’s suites A and B, however weren’t the fraudulent entities listed within the location claims. An actual constructing, with actual companies, however a faux enterprise that by no means appeared to exist in that area.

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One other cease, 1541 Como Ave, was present in a slender alley in St. Paul, Minnesota. The handle housed a small, rusted storage in the back of a church. The storage seemed to be empty, with no mailbox or trash cans.

A picnic bench simply exterior the storage door was lined in leaves, snow and different particles.

A number of gents from a close-by native enterprise advised Fox Information Digital {that a} man named “John” had used the placement for a small pop-up gymnasium and health heart. He was typically seen driving round in a flowery automotive. There was no indication whether or not this location was the legit operations heart of the fraudulent declare.

4601 E 54th St, one other location linked to the scandal, was visited solely by Fox Information Digital and located an empty parking zone. The handle listed was within the 400s on the road. Nonetheless, there aren’t any 400s on that avenue, solely 500s.

One other location, 2720 E Lake St, was fully boarded up and lined in graffiti, with a homeless man sleeping out entrance. The constructing appeared to haven’t been functioning for a while.

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“The vast majority of that $500 million has not but served a single meal and some easy issues are, if they’d simply gone to the services, you hear from the 1000’s of people who find themselves being served twice a day trip of an condominium, all they must do is present up and take a look at it,” Republican Senator Mark Koran of Minnesota advised Fox Information Digital in regards to the fraud that was hiding in plain sight in Minneapolis.

“There was a legislative audit report that confirmed that thirty property homeowners the place these corporations declare to function had contacted the Division of Schooling that administers it, which administered that program, and so they advised them, the businesses do not exist of their services, so they do not exist, interval, and one among them I feel was a metropolis park,” Koran mentioned.

“And so the Division of Schooling handed that grievance on to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future to deal with these points, and the Division of Schooling proceeded to pay thousands and thousands to these thirty with a blatant, easy strategy of ‘we’ve got been notified they do not exist’ and so they dismissed and ignored it.”