ST PAUL, MN – A Somali man based out of Minnesota who’d previously been recognized by the state’s Department of Human Services as an “outstanding refugee” has reportedly been hit with multiple charges stemming from a Medicaid fraud investigation, with two of his co-defendants facing additional charges regarding an alleged sex trafficking ring.
A once-celebrated Somali refugee out of Minnesota has since been charged in connection to an alleged Medicaid fraud case where authorities have accused Salman Ahmed Elmi of billing in excess of $1 million in services either not provided or ineligible for Medicaid reimbursement. Elmi reportedly made his first appearance in court on August 17th after being booked on three counts of aiding and abetting by swindle and five counts of aiding and abetting by false representation earlier in August.
According to authorities, Elmi and his co-conspirators allegedly billed Medicaid through Reva Health, which reportedly renders services for autism and rehabilitative mental health, via purportedly falsified documents to ensure reimbursement. Authorities further allege Elmi and his co-conspirators told staff at the center to pay kickbacks to various individuals who allegedly forwarded their personal information to help facilitate the allegedly falsified Medicaid claims.
Two of the co-conspirators ensnared in the indictment, former Anoka County prosecutor Andrea Sampson and Frank Devone Reeves, are facing additional charges regarding an alleged sex trafficking ring that was taken down by authorities in Hennepin County earlier in August. The former Anoka County prosecutor allegedly ran most of the operations and money laundering for the sex trafficking scheme, reportedly using multiple properties she owned to photograph and advertise the trafficked victims.
Elmi was reportedly a sort of local public figure in Minnesota, having gained funding to establish Reva Health after a successful run with another company he founded that was funded in part by Shark Tank personality Kevin O’Leary. Minnesota Department of Human Services’ (MDHS) official website even featured a dedicated page on Elmi that has since been removed, where his personally written bio featured on the government website boasted of how the Somali community are falsely depicted as “mooching” off taxpayer dollars.
“The biggest thing I hear all the time is that refugees are mooching off of the economy or being a non-productive member of society when, in reality, immigrants contribute to a big part of the U.S. economy, especially here in Minnesota,” Elmi noted on his now-deleted feature on the MDHS website.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement regarding Elmi’s arrest earlier in August, saying the allegations surrounding Medicaid fraud makes his “blood boil,” further adding how his office has already successfully prosecuted over 340 cases involving similar Medicaid fraud and Elmi’s arrest should “serve as yet another warning that those who try to cheat Minnesotans will be caught and charged.”
Comments