Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 30, 2026, the Justice Department’s Fraud Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota charged, convicted or sentenced 13 defendants whose alleged or proven schemes caused nearly $83 million in intended losses to the federal government, the department said in an Oct. 30 announcement. It also reported about $29.1 million in fraud uncovered in the newly charged cases.
The largest of the new cases is a $19.1 million scheme against the Minnesota Medicaid EIDBI autism therapy program. Habiba Mohamed, 58, of Coon Rapids, was charged by information on Oct. 29 with conspiracy to defraud the United States, and the department says she paid kickbacks to the parents of Medicaid recipients in exchange for the ability to submit claims. Co-conspirators were previously indicted.
Families with a child or relative who gets autism therapy, home supports or personal care through Minnesota Medicaid should look at whether every service billed under that person’s ID was actually delivered. A parent who was offered money to use a particular provider, or who sees billing for sessions that never happened, can take it to federal investigators, and the routes are listed below.
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Who are the 13 defendants, and where does each case stand?
The department sorts them into charged, convicted and sentenced. An indictment, information or complaint is only an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim, 54, of Pelican Rapids: indicted Sept. 29 in an alleged $1.1 million scheme against the Federal Child Nutrition Program, and arrested Sept. 30 after nearly 10 months as a fugitive in Kenya.
- Emily Marice Ravits, 74, of Tucson, Arizona: indicted Oct. 22 in an alleged $7.7 million EIDBI scheme, accused of acting as a supervising professional without doing the required duties.
- Feisal Mohamed Elmi, 46, of New Brighton: indicted Oct. 22 on eleven counts of health care fraud in an alleged $8.2 million EIDBI scheme.
- Habiba Mohamed, 58, of Coon Rapids: charged Oct. 29 in the alleged $19.1 million EIDBI scheme.
- Faiza Osman Ahmed, 41, of Richfield: indicted Oct. 28 on six counts of health care fraud in an alleged scheme of roughly $10 million against Minnesota Medicaid programs.
- Jama Yusuf Mohamod, 68, of Maple Grove: indicted Oct. 28 on eight counts of health care fraud over roughly $3.2 million in claims.
- Ahmed Abdul Razaq Al Obaidi, 49, of Blaine, and Muhammad Abdullah Kahn: charged by complaint on Oct. 21 with unlawfully transferring SNAP benefits in a case the department calls Operation Cold SNAP. Al Obaidi, a store manager, was arrested.
- Muna Wais Fidhin, 45, of Savage: found guilty Oct. 21 after a three-week jury trial on wire fraud, federal programs bribery and money laundering counts, with sentencing pending.
- Nicole Lee Slegers, 48, and Shaun Hubert Slegers, 37, of Arcos: each pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud over about $144,524 taken from the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients.
- Salim Ahmed Said, 37, of Plymouth: sentenced Oct. 28 to 360 months in the $250 million Feeding Our Future case.
- Said Farah, 44, of Minneapolis: sentenced Oct. 30 to 78 months and fined $40,000 for bribing a juror.
What is the $19.1 million autism-therapy case?
EIDBI is the Minnesota Medicaid autism therapy program named in three of the new cases, with alleged schemes of $7.7 million, $8.2 million and $19.1 million. In Mohamed’s case, the department says the payments went to parents of Medicaid recipients for the right to submit claims. The department gives no figures for the kickbacks.
The other two cases describe different methods. Elmi is accused of billing for services not rendered and for services provided while staff were abroad. Ravits is accused of signing false treatment-plan certifications as a qualified supervising professional.
What did the sentences in the same announcement show?
Said was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel after a six-week trial in early 2025 alongside co-defendant Aimee Bock. The department says he facilitated more than $44 million in fraud proceeds. Farah’s 78 months were for bribing a juror: co-conspirators allegedly delivered $200,000 in cash to a juror’s home, and he deleted texts before surrendering his phone.
The department also says courts imposed about 550 months of imprisonment in Minnesota fraud cases over the past 110 days, and that this year investigators have issued over 1,000 subpoenas and over 40 premises warrants. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said, “Minnesota is the epicenter for fraud in America.” U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said, “These defendants stole money meant for the vulnerable, and they will be brought to justice.”
In May, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force charged 15 defendants in what the department calls the largest Medicaid fraud takedown in state history, and 16 defendants have since been convicted. Separately, the department announced a $227 million Medicare case the same day, covered in its Kablazada plea announcement.
Where can families report billing for services that never happened?
The Minnesota announcement does not include a tip line. The HHS Office of Inspector General takes complaints about suspected Medicare and Medicaid fraud online and at 1-800-HHS-TIPS, according to its reporting page. It asks for names and contact details for the person or business, a description of the activity with dates and how the caller learned of it, and any billing records, emails or photographs.
The office says not every complaint leads to an investigation and that it rarely steps into personal or civil disputes, so a family seeking a refund from a provider is told to pursue other remedies as well.
Was every therapy session billed under a family’s Medicaid ID actually held?
The Minnesota cases turn on billing for services that prosecutors say were not delivered, and on Medicaid recipients’ IDs that sat behind the claims. A family cannot audit a provider’s books, but it can lock down the accounts and credit files that belong to it, so a stolen identity opens fewer doors.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
