DOJ Charges 15 People In Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Scheme Worth $90 Million

The Department of Justice announced it has arrested and indicted 15 people in Minnesota for fraud schemes involving $90 million in Medicaid funds, with the cases tied to seven state-managed Medicaid programs.

“DOJ charges 15 defendants accused of collectively defrauding $90 million Top federal officials on Thursday announced prosecutions against 15 defendants accused of defrauding government services”

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Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said the charges “targeted ‘shocking’ schemes that reaped $90 million in taxpayer funds,” and he described the defendants as having treated Minnesota-run programs as their “personal piggy bank.”

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the arrests were “the largest autism fraud bust in American history,” while Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said Minnesota’s government had not done enough to prevent it.

Politico reported that Mehmet Oz oversees Medicaid and Medicare and that Minnesota’s government, led by Democratic 2024 vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, had not done enough to prevent the fraud, as the Trump administration again accused Walz of poor oversight of federal funds.

Fox21online said the alleged fraud involved $90 million across seven state-managed Medicaid programs and that the charges were publicly announced on May 21, 2026.

Politico said two defendants indicted Thursday were accused of paying kickbacks to parents who brought their children to autism centers where the children were diagnosed with the neurological condition “regardless of medical necessity,” and then billed for autism services that were never provided.

McDonald said one patient who was supposed to receive around-the-clock care but didn’t was later found dead, and he framed the scheme as the “largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the Department of Justice.”

Washington Examiner

Fox21online reported that two additional people were accused of receiving $21.1 million by billing Medicaid for autism therapy that was either unnecessary or not provided, and investigators said the two paid families as much as $1,500 per child per month to add their names to the program.

WJRT ABC12 said some charges involved allegations that children were falsely being diagnosed with autism in order to receive government money, and it quoted McDonald calling it the “largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the Department of Justice.”

Washington Examiner said prosecutors alleged the clinics ultimately received roughly $21 million in Medicaid reimbursements and described the operation as exploiting vulnerable children “as billing opportunities.”

Politico said Minnesota has agreed to revalidate by May 31 all health providers of services that are at high risk of fraud, including those who offer personal care or care at home.

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Politico

Dr. Mehmet Oz said during the press conference that of the 5,600 providers the state is revalidating, 40 percent have not responded or given an inadequate response as of May 7, and he said “We believe by the end of this month that half of these providers may no longer be allowed to provide services.”

Politico reported that So far this year, Oz’s agency has withheld more than $300 million in Medicaid payments to Minnesota because of questions about whether its medical claims were fraudulent, and it said CMS sought to withhold $2 billion in future Medicaid payments in January.

WJRT ABC12 said the announcement came as Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock was sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison on federal charges, and it said more than $250 million in federal funds was taken in the Minnesota scheme overall with only about $50 million recovered.

Politico added that CMS is starting to go after Medicaid funding in other states and announced a $1.3 billion deferral for California earlier this month, alleging the state had not done enough to go after fraud among hospice providers.