Timeline
Documented milestones across the programs and cases, 2020 to 2026, each with a source. Filter by program, or by kind of event (program actions, charges and courts, audits, or public claims).
- July 20, 2020ProgramProgramsHousing Stabilization
Housing Stabilization Services launches
Housing Stabilization Services begins. The Department of Human Services says Minnesota is the first state to have these benefits approved as a basic Medicaid service. Services launched July 20, 2020.
- November 20, 2020InvestigationAudits & oversightFeeding Our Future
Feeding Our Future sues the Education Department
Feeding Our Future sues the Minnesota Department of Education in Ramsey County District Court, alleging among other things that the department delayed approving its site applications. On December 22, 2020, by agreement of the parties, the court orders the department to decide site applications “in a reasonably prompt manner.”
- March 31, 2021Audit / reviewAudits & oversightFeeding Our Future
Education Department stops paying Feeding Our Future
The Minnesota Department of Education issues a second set of serious-deficiency findings and stops paying Feeding Our Future’s reimbursement claims. Feeding Our Future moves for a restraining order and to hold the department in contempt. The department lifts the stop on April 30, 2021, after a judge’s April 21 comments, without a court order requiring it.
- May 2021InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
FBI opens its investigation
After the Education Department shares its fraud suspicions, the FBI begins investigating Feeding Our Future, per the Legislative Auditor.
- June 24, 2021InvestigationAudits & oversightFeeding Our Future
Court holds the Education Department in contempt over site applications
A Ramsey County judge finds the department in contempt of the December 2020 stipulated order over its handling of site applications and orders $47,500 in sanctions and attorney fees. It is the case’s only contempt finding, and it concerns site applications, not the payment stop, which had been lifted two months earlier.
- January 20, 2022InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
FBI raids Feeding Our Future
FBI agents, with IRS and Postal Inspection Service investigators, execute 25 search warrants in the Feeding Our Future investigation, first bringing the child-nutrition fraud scheme to public attention.
- September 20, 2022ChargesCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
First Feeding Our Future charges announced
The U.S. Attorney announces charges against 47 defendants, across six indictments and three criminal informations, alleging a $250 million scheme to exploit a federal child-nutrition program during the pandemic. Those charged are presumed innocent unless convicted.
- August 29, 2023ChargesCharges & courtsPersonal care (PCA)
State charges $9.5 million PCA case
Attorney General Ellison charges owners and managers of MN Professional, then the largest prosecution in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s history.
- June 2, 2024InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
$120,000 left at a juror’s home
During the first Feeding Our Future trial, a gift bag with $120,000 cash is handed to a relative of Juror 52 at the juror’s home, as a present in exchange for a not-guilty verdict, per the Justice Department. The juror reports it to police. Five people are later charged, and all five plead guilty.
- June 13, 2024Audit / reviewAudits & oversightFeeding Our Future
Legislative Auditor faults Education Department oversight
The Legislative Auditor’s special review finds the Minnesota Department of Education’s inadequate oversight of Feeding Our Future created opportunities for fraud.
- March 19, 2025ConvictionCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Bock and Said convicted at trial
A federal jury convicts Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock on all 7 counts and co-defendant Salim Said on all counts against him.
- August 1, 2025ProgramProgramsHousing Stabilization
DHS asks CMS to end Housing Stabilization Services
In a letter to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) asks for help ending the housing stabilization benefit. The letter says the DHS inspector general has suspended payments to 77 providers that year based on credible allegations of fraud. A payment suspension is a temporary action, not a finding.
- September 18, 2025ChargesCharges & courtsHousing Stabilization
First federal Housing Stabilization charges
Eight people are charged with wire fraud in what prosecutors call the first wave of Housing Stabilization fraud cases. Per the release’s year-by-year figures, the program paid out more than $302 million from 2021 through June 2025 (this site’s sum) against a $2.6 million annual projection. Those charged are presumed innocent unless convicted.
- September 24, 2025ChargesCharges & courtsAutism therapy (EIDBI)
First autism-program fraud charge
Asha Farhan Hassan is charged with wire fraud in a $14 million autism-therapy (EIDBI) scheme, the first charge in the autism-program investigation.
- October 31, 2025ProgramProgramsHousing Stabilization
Housing Stabilization Services ends
Citing widespread fraud, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) ends the program with federal approval. October 31 is the last day services can be delivered.
- November 1, 2025ReformProgramsAutism therapy (EIDBI)
Moratorium on new EIDBI provider agencies
With approval from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) stops enrolling new autism-therapy (EIDBI) provider agencies. Initially set to end April 30, 2026, the freeze is later extended through October 31, 2026. Every existing agency must apply for a provisional license by May 31, 2026 or be dropped from the program.
- November 24, 2025SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Abdimajid Nur sentenced to 10 years
Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, convicted at the first trial, is sentenced to 120 months in prison and ordered to pay $47.9 million in restitution. His juror-bribery sentence is imposed separately.
- December 11, 2025Public claimPublic claims
Star Tribune tallies charged fraud at $217.7 million
A newspaper accounting of court records puts alleged fraud charged since September 2022 at $217.7 million. Prosecutors dispute the tally as too low.
- December 18, 2025Public claimPublic claims
Prosecutor’s "half of $18 billion" remark
At a news conference announcing new Medicaid charges, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson suggests fraudsters may have taken at least half of the $18 billion spent since 2018 across 14 high-risk Medicaid programs. The remark becomes the basis of later "$9 billion" and "$18-19 billion" claims.
- December 18, 2025ChargesCharges & courts
Six more charged in Medicaid schemes, with the first autism-program plea
Federal prosecutors charge a second autism-therapy (EIDBI) provider (Star Autism Center, more than $6 million alleged) and five Housing Stabilization defendants, including two Philadelphia residents who enrolled as Minnesota providers. They also announce Asha Farhan Hassan’s guilty plea. Those charged were presumed innocent. Yussuf and the two Philadelphia residents have since pleaded guilty (February and March 2026), and the others remain presumed innocent unless convicted.
- January 6, 2026ReformAudits & oversight
CMS declares Minnesota noncompliant, threatens $515 million a quarter
Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), notifies the state it is out of compliance on program integrity and that CMS may withhold $515 million in federal matching funds each quarter. The state submits a revised corrective action plan on January 30. CMS approves the plan on March 19, 2026. The state’s January 13 hearing request had already blocked the withhold, and it is not imposed.
- January 8, 2026InvestigationCharges & courts
Federal prosecution surge in Minnesota announced
A White House fact sheet says the Justice Department is “surging prosecution resources to Minnesota, doubling the number of attorneys handling these matters,” and states the department’s tally of 98 defendants charged and 64 convicted in Minnesota fraud-related cases. That statewide count is kept on a different basis from the Feeding Our Future tallies.
- January 13, 2026PersonnelCharges & courts
Joe Thompson leaves the U.S. Attorney’s Office
Joe Thompson, described as Minnesota’s top federal fraud prosecutor, resigns. He had served as acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota and then as First Assistant U.S. Attorney, the title he held when he made the December 18 "half of $18 billion" remark.
- January 27, 2026ReformProgramsOther flagged programs
Enrollment freeze across the 12 remaining high-risk services
A six-month freeze on enrolling new providers, approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), takes effect for the 12 high-risk services not already frozen (the autism-therapy program, EIDBI, has its own). In July 2026 CMS approves an extension through January 27, 2027.
- February 6, 2026Audit / reviewAudits & oversightOther flagged programs
Optum review flags $1 billion for closer review
A state-commissioned review of $9.4 billion in claims across the 14 high-risk services identifies about $1 billion in payments needing review and $52.3 million in clear policy violations. The report says the figures do not necessarily imply fraud.
- February 24, 2026Public claimPublic claims
The $19 billion claim
In the State of the Union address, President Trump says "members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer," per the official transcript. Fact-checkers report the figure lacks evidence and far exceeds Justice Department tallies.
- February 25, 2026ReformAudits & oversight
CMS defers $259.5 million in federal Medicaid match
The day after the State of the Union, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) defers $259,505,491 in federal matching funds for the quarter ending September 30, 2025. It describes $243.8 million of that as "unsupported or potentially fraudulent" claims in the high-risk services. A deferral asks the state to document claims. It is not a finding of fraud. Two more quarterly deferrals follow (about $91.5 million on April 29 and about $199 million on July 21, 2026, as reported by Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families and KTTC).
- March 2, 2026ReformAudits & oversight
Minnesota sues CMS over the deferral
The state and its human services commissioner sue Administrator Oz, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in federal court (No. 26-cv-1701). On April 6 Judge Eric Tostrud denies a preliminary injunction, finding the deferral is not final agency action. The parties agree to put the case on hold in May. On September 4, 2026 the court extends the hold, with a joint status notice due January 4, 2027.
- March 4, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
First juror-bribery sentence is 57 months
Abdulkarim Farah, who surveilled Juror 52 and recorded the cash delivery, is the first of the five bribery defendants sentenced. He receives 57 months, the high end of the guidelines range.
- March 17, 2026Audit / reviewAudits & oversightAutism therapy (EIDBI)
Legislative Auditor faults DHS on kickback complaints
The Legislative Auditor finds the Department of Human Services has long had legal authority to act on kickback complaints in the autism-therapy (EIDBI) program, despite the department saying it did not. The review also finds a decades-old error in the department’s rules that may limit payment suspensions.
- May 4, 2026ReformAudits & oversight
DHS commissioner replaced 70 days after appointment
Shireen Gandhi, temporary commissioner since February 2025 and commissioner since February 23, 2026, moves to deputy commissioner overseeing Medicaid, and John Connolly becomes temporary commissioner, per the governor’s announcement.
- May 14, 2026ReformAudits & oversight
Statewide inspector general law signed
The governor signs SF 856 (Laws 2026, chapter 92), creating a statewide Office of the Inspector General. The office must be fully operational by September 1, 2027.
- May 21, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Bock sentenced to 500 months and 15 more charged
Aimee Bock is sentenced to 41 years 8 months and later ordered, in the June 4 judgment, to pay $242,807,755 in restitution. At sentencing the court attributed the full $242 million in losses to her. The same day, federal officials announce charges against 15 defendants for over $90 million in alleged Medicaid and other benefits fraud.
- June 4, 2026InvestigationCharges & courts
FBI launches the Most Wanted Fraudsters list
The FBI launches a Most Wanted Fraudsters list with Feeding Our Future defendant Said Abdullahi Ereg among the first eight names.
- June 10, 2026InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Ereg surrenders at the Minneapolis airport
Six days after his Most Wanted listing, Said Abdullahi Ereg surrenders to FBI agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He is charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
- June 16, 2026AppealCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Bock appeals
Bock appeals her conviction and sentence to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- June 25, 2026InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Eidleh taken into custody in Mogadishu
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, a former Feeding Our Future employee charged by indictment in 2022, is taken into custody in Mogadishu, Somalia. He is charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
- July 8, 2026InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Fahad Mohamed Nur added to the Most Wanted list
The FBI adds Fahad Mohamed Nur, charged in 2022 and believed to have fled a week after the raids, to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list with a reward of up to $150,000.
- July 13, 2026ConvictionCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Dool pleads guilty, and the Justice Department corrects its conviction count
Abdirashid Bixi Dool pleads guilty to wire fraud for his role, more than $330,000, in claims for meal sites in Pelican Rapids and Moorhead. The two nonprofits behind those sites were paid nearly $1.1 million in all. The Justice Department release announcing it, as corrected July 24, counts him as the 68th Feeding Our Future defendant convicted. An earlier version of the same release said 70th.
- July 16, 2026InvestigationCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Eidleh transferred from Somalia to Minnesota
Three weeks after his arrest in Mogadishu, Abdikerm Eidleh is transferred to Minnesota. The US and Somalia have no extradition treaty, and the Justice Department calls it his lawful surrender. The US Attorney calls him "second only to Aimee Bock" in the scheme. He is charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
- July 22, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Ten more years for the juror bribe
Abdiaziz Farah, already serving 28 years for the fraud, is sentenced to 120 months for bribing Juror 52, for a combined 38 years, per KSTP. Two of the five bribery defendants have been sentenced. As of October 11, 2026 no sentencing had been reported for the other three.
- July 24, 2026ConvictionCharges & courtsHousing Stabilization
All four Brilliant Minds defendants plead guilty
The four men charged in the first Housing Stabilization wave over Brilliant Minds Services LLC plead guilty to wire fraud in hearings between July 7 and July 23, 2026. They billed about $2.2 million for roughly 350 people who received no services, and made up records using AI when insurers asked for documentation.
- July 30, 2026ConvictionCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
80th defendant charged pleads guilty within a week
Mohamoud Warsame (spelled Mahamoud in some reporting), owner of Metro Area Catering, pleads guilty to wire fraud about a week after being charged as the 80th Feeding Our Future defendant. The charge involves more than $4.7 million on claims of 1.6 million meals. Press tallies now count 69 convictions.
- August 18, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Abshir sentenced to 78 months as Said’s sentencing moves again
Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir, a Bock co-defendant who approached a cooperating witness outside the courtroom during the 2025 trial, is sentenced to 78 months. Salim Said, whose sentencing had been set for the same day, is not sentenced. A July 30 docket order had reset his sentencing to October 8, and KSTP later reported it had moved to late October.
- August 24, 2026AppealCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Bock’s appeal brief asks for acquittal or a new trial
Bock’s 72-page Eighth Circuit brief argues the government never proved she knew the scope of the fraud, attacks the bribery theory, and calls the restitution order a payment stream mislabeled as loss. The government’s response was due September 11, 2026. Whether it was filed on time or extended had not been confirmed as of October 11, 2026.
- August 27, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Three more sentences, 155 months combined
Abdihakim Ali Ahmed (54 months) and Ahmed Abdullahi Ghedi (65 months) of the Gurey Deli site, and bookkeeper Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim (36 months), are sentenced August 26 and 27. The Justice Department counts them as the 24th, 25th, and 26th defendants sentenced.
- September 8, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Shakopee couple sentenced to 97 months combined
Mekfira Hussein (57 months) and Abduljabar Hussein (40 months) are sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme through which they obtained about $8.8 million in child-nutrition funds.
- September 10, 2026InvestigationCharges & courtsHousing Stabilization
Housing Stabilization defendant arrested at the Minneapolis airport after nine months abroad
Kaamil Omar Sallah, indicted December 16, 2025 on four counts of wire fraud over about $1.4 million in SafeLodgings claims, is arrested at the Minneapolis airport on September 10, 2026, about nine months after flying to Amsterdam, in a return the Justice Department says was arranged through his defense lawyers. He is charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
- September 24, 2026SettlementAudits & oversightFeeding Our Future
Partners in Nutrition settles with the state for $18.5 million
The other large nonprofit sponsor settles the Attorney General’s civil False Claims Act suit. The settlement takes $18,517,909.27, all the money it has, and requires dissolution. In the court filing it denies the allegations (per MPR News). No criminal charge against the organization or its leaders had been reported as of October 11, 2026, and the Attorney General says civil investigations of individuals continue. The money goes back to the Minnesota Department of Education and then to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- September 24, 2026Audit / reviewAudits & oversightOther flagged programs
Legislative Auditor summarizes the redacted Optum vulnerability assessment
At a legislator’s request, the Legislative Auditor publishes a summary of Optum’s January 31, 2026 vulnerability assessment of the 14 high-risk programs, which the Department of Human Services had released heavily redacted. The auditor recommends recurring fraud risk assessments and a legislative review of duplicative services, and notes it did not independently verify Optum’s work.
- September 29, 2026ChargesCharges & courts
Attorney General charges nine Medicaid providers
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit files state charges against nine people over more than $3 million in Medical Assistance billing, including a Duluth psychotherapy provider (more than $2.2 million) and a home care agency owner (more than $675,000). All are charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
- October 1, 2026SentencingCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Former mayoral aide sentenced to 33 months
Abdi Nur Salah, a former aide to the Minneapolis mayor (per KSTP) who pleaded guilty in January 2025, is sentenced to 33 months. The Justice Department counts him as the 31st defendant sentenced in the scheme. He received about $1.66 million, per the release.
- October 1, 2026ConvictionCharges & courtsHousing Stabilization
Two Pristine Health owners plead guilty
Hassan Ahmed Hussein (September 24) and Ahmed Abdirashid Mohamed (October 1) plead guilty to wire fraud over Housing Stabilization claims. Pristine Health billed Minnesota Medicaid more than $820,000 for about 90 enrollees, some of whom never agreed to services.
- October 1, 2026ChargesCharges & courtsFeeding Our Future
Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim indicted in Feeding Our Future case
An indictment filed September 29 and unsealed October 1 charges Shaakir Mohamud Ibrahim with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and five counts of monetary transactions in criminally derived property. It alleges that from about March 2021 to February 2022 the meal programs named in it claimed over $1.2 million from Feeding Our Future and received about $1.1 million. MPR News counts him as the 81st person indicted in the scheme. He is charged, not convicted, and presumed innocent.
- October 7, 2026ConvictionCharges & courtsHousing Stabilization
Jury convicts a Housing Stabilization provider at trial
A federal jury in St. Paul convicts Sharmaine Meadows of Lake Elmo on three counts of health care fraud. Her company was paid over $3.6 million between 2020 and 2025 for services that, the evidence showed, were not provided. Sentencing is to be set later.
People charged but not convicted are presumed innocent, and amounts labeled alleged come from charging documents, not proven losses. Method and corrections