A prominent Somali-run nonprofit kept collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer -funded grants from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Under Tim Walz – for nearly two years after its board chairman faced felony charges for orchestrating one of the state’s largest Medicaid fraud schemes.
The nonprofit, Ka Joog, which allegedly supports Somali youth, received more than $600,000 in state payments right after the chairman was indicted in 2023 and kept getting money well into this year.
Investigators say Minnesota has one of the largest fraud problems in the country, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Republican lawmakers have blasted the Biden-era DHS for what they call an “asleep at the wheel” approach, arguing that Gov. Walz’s team allowed fraud to flourish under the Guise of humanitarian aid to those in need.
Facts from the fraud investigation:
Ali Elmi, Ka Joog’s board chairman at the time, was charged in August 2023 alongside four others with racketeering and theft for defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of about $9.5 million.
The scheme involved billing for personal care assistance services that were never provided
Fall 2023: Elmi indicted. The Biden DHS then issued initial grants to Ka Joog totaling over $200,000.
2024: Additional payments of more than $300,000 were given to Ka Joog
Early 2025 – More grants pushing the total to more than $600,000
The latest fraud scheme fits into a pattern of Medicaid fraud in Minnesota, with federal investigations this year uncovering over $10 million stolen in housing stabilization scams, tied to the Somali community – this doesn’t include the $450 Million Feeding our Family fraud scheme also tied to the Somali migrant community.
