Minnesota Woman Charged in $14 Million Autism Scheme
The U.S. Attorney’s office has charged a 28-year-old Minnesota woman, Asha Farhan Hassan, with fraudulently billing $14 million to Medicaid for a kickback-laden children’s autism program. According to the charges, Hassan’s claims for reimbursement were submitted through the state Department of Human Services and UCare, and allegedly funded real estate purchases in Kenya.
Hassan is charged with federal wire fraud for her role in the alleged scheme, which involved recruiting parents to her Minneapolis-based Smart Therapy Center and offering them monthly kickbacks of $300 to $1,500 per child if they agreed to participate. The center purportedly provided services for children with autism, but authorities allege that Hassan and her partners employed unqualified individuals as “behavioral technicians” and submitted millions of dollars in fraudulent claims for Medicaid reimbursement.
Alleged Scheme and Charges
The alleged scheme involved Hassan and her partners recruiting parents in the Somali community to enroll their children in the Smart Therapy Center, even if they did not have an autism diagnosis and treatment plan. The parents were offered monthly kickbacks, and some threatened to take their children to other autism centers if they did not receive larger kickbacks. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, many of the claims submitted for Medicaid reimbursement were “fraudulently inflated, were billed without providers’ knowledge, and were for services that were not actually provided.”
Hassan is also charged with participating in the Feeding Our Future fraud case, in which dozens of defendants have been accused of enriching themselves with $250 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program dollars. She allegedly received $465,000 through the program after claiming she was feeding as many as 1,200 meals per day to impoverished children, seven days per week.
Investigation and Response
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson called the charges “the first in the ongoing investigation” into fraud in the state’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention benefit, a publicly-funded health program providing medically necessary services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder who are under the age of 21. Thompson stated that “this is not an isolated scheme” and that “these massive fraud schemes form a web that has stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer money.”
The Department of Human Services issued a statement saying it took steps in the fall of 2024 to improve oversight, including onsite compliance visits to autism providers and actions involving licensure and billing. The department opened an investigation into Smart Therapy in August 2024 and stopped payments after law enforcement served search warrants in December 2024.
Conclusion
The charges against Asha Farhan Hassan highlight the need for increased oversight and scrutiny of programs providing services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The alleged scheme is a reminder of the importance of ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and efficiently to provide necessary services to those in need. For more information on this case, visit Here
Image Source: www.twincities.com
