Feds charge 15 in $90M Minnesota childcare, Medicaid fraud

(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors announced charges against 15 people in Minnesota on Thursday in connection to Medicaid and childcare fraud costing taxpayers more than $90 million.

Prosectors said those who were charged targeted seven state-managed Medicaid programs in Minnesota, one of which has been entirely shut down due to a lack of funds.

“Today’s charges are unprecedented,” said Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. “They include the highest loss amount ever charged in a Medicaid case in Minnesota, and the largest autism fraud scheme ever charged by the Department of Justice.”

In one instance, McDonald said, a person charged with fraud claimed to perform services for a man who needed constant medical supervision. The man was found dead after not receiving the services for which the government paid.

Other defendants improperly diagnosed children with autism and billed the government for autism services t...