BREAKING: In Minnesota, Dept. of Justice Charges 15 Suspects with $90 Million Medicaid Fraud

HHS Secretary Kennedy calls Thursday’s charges “the largest autism fraud bust in American history”

On Thursday, following widespread reports of systemic Medicaid fraud in Minnesota, the Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested and charged 15 suspects for, among other crimes, operating illegitimate childcare centers.

In a press conference at the federal court house in Minneapolis, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “Today’s arrests represent the largest autism fraud bust in American history. This was not a paperwork error, it was not a technical violation. This was an organized theft that exploited the most vulnerable children in America.”

He continued, “Investigators uncovered brazen schemes that billed taxpayers for non-existent services, fraudulent diagnoses and fake care, while criminals enriched themselves at public expense.”

Kennedy said healthcare fraud costs the United States tens of billions of dollars each year and “threatens the long-term stability of both Medicaid and Medicare.”

According to published reports, the accused had stolen money intended to, among other things, provide services for children with autism.

The DOJ had identified fraud in autism care in Minnesota as a major area of concern. According to an official press release, “two defendants were charged in connection with an approximately $46.6 million scheme to defraud the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program, a publicly funded Minnesota Health Care Program that offers medically necessary services to people under the age of 21 with autism spectrum disorder. In 2017, Minnesota became one of the first states to offer Medicaid coverage for EIDBI services. EIDBI claims skyrocketed from over $600,000 in 2018 to over $400 million by 2025.”

At the press conference, speaking alongside Secretary Kennedy and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said that defendants charged Thursday had absconded with $90 million in Medicaid and other public funds.

This comes amid a multi-agency crackdown on Medicaid fraud, including an HHS initiative known as Audit Enforcement and Risk Oversight (AERO). AERO plans to work with Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud taskforce and CMS to audit Medicaid fraud across all 50 states. Dr. Oz has said that California is another notable epicenter of fraud, particularly with regard to hospice care.

Dr. Oz said that the anti-fraud initiatives will strengthen the solvency of Medicaid and Medicare for Americans who rely on these programs. “We are all up here because we love these programs,” Oz said. “Medicaid is the fundamental payer of last resort for our most needy, most vulnerable citizens, and when we’re unable to keep these programs alive because of fraudsters, it hurts all of us deeply — and that’s what happened here in Minnesota.”

Dr. Oz reiterated longstanding criticisms of Minnesota’s top executive, democratic Governor Tim Waltz, confirming that funds amounting to $350 million will be diverted from the state until its administration can justify the spending.

“This is an extraordinary bust today because these kinds of operations usually take many years, sometimes a decade,” Kennedy said. “This was executed with a precision and speed that is unprecedented in the history of law enforcement. And it’s unprecedented now, but under Vice President Vance’s leadership and President Trump’s direction, we are going to normalize this speed.”

Finally, the HHS Secretary expressed his full support for efforts to crack down on widespread fraud in a historic investigative effort from both health agencies and federal law enforcement.