The first defendant has been charged in a new Minnesota autism fraud scheme that involved Somali migrants who got significant kickbacks for taking part.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson confirming there has been more than $2 billion dollars in fraud in the state overall saying,
“These massive fraud schemes form a web that has stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer money.”
28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan was charged with wire fraud for her role in a $14 million autism fraud scheme – where she allegedly siphoned the money from a state-funded autism services initiative.
The Minneapolis business owner was also charged with participating in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, for which she received $465,000.
Thompson saying
“The charges mark the first in the ongoing investigation into fraud in the EIDBI Autism Program”
“To be clear, this is not an isolated scheme. From Feeding Our Future, to Housing Stabilization Services and now Autism Services, these massive fraud schemes form a web that has stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer money.”
He goes on to say that
“Each case we bring exposes another strand of this network. The challenge is immense, but our work continues.”
Hassan is accused of defrauding the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program, a Medicaid benefit designed to provide critical therapy for children under 21 with autism spectrum disorders.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, Hassan operated through her company, Smart Therapy LLC, from November 2019 through December 2024.
Prosecutors allege she and unnamed partners recruited Somali families who were willing to lie and say their kids had autism, so they could enroll them in the program – even fabricating diagnoses and treatment plans where needed.
For their part in the scheme, the parents got kickbacks ranging from $300 to $1,500 per month per child.
The scheme received more than $14 million in fraudulent reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Human Services and managed care organization UCare.
Funds were split among the conspirators, with portions allegedly wired overseas, including to purchase real estate in Kenya and Somalia.
Hassan is also accused of pocketing $465,000 from the Feeding Our Future scandal, the massive C*VID-era child nutrition fraud that alone cost taxpayers nearly $300 million.
She registered Smart Therapy as the sole owner in 2019, concealing co-owners—including one previously banned by state regulators for misconduct in an adult daycare operation—to secure enrollment in the EIDBI program.
Hassan’s attorney, Ryan Pacyga, said she plans to plead guilty and is cooperating.
If convicted, Hassan faces up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
