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St. Cloud autism center owner charged with defrauding $6 million in state funds

On Dec. 18, 2024, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, 27, president and CEO of Star Autism Center in St. Cloud, was charged with wire fraud over a $6,000,000 scheme to defraud a Minnesota health care program, prosecutors say.
The EIDBI program, which serves people under 21 with autism spectrum disorder, was targeted as Yussuf and partners recruited Somali community parents and helped undiagnosed children qualify for services.
Investigators say the center submitted inflated Medicaid/EIDBI claims and used proceeds to buy a freightliner semi-truck and send over $200,000 to Kenya.
FBI agents raided the center in December 2024, involving IRS-CI, HHS OIG, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; five other individuals face federal charges.
The U.S. Attorney's Office warns nearly $9,000,000,000 in Medicaid funds may be affected as Minnesota auditors review about $18 billion, with St. Cloud at the scandal's center.

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St. Cloud autism center owner charged with defrauding $6 million in state funds

ST. CLOUD — The owner of a St. Cloud autism treatment center has been charged federally with wire fraud and is accused of carrying out a scheme worth $6 million to defraud a publicly funded Minnesota health care program. Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, 27, was the president and CEO of Star Autism Center, which FBI agents raided in December 2024. Authorities allege that the center employed individuals, typically teenagers, without formal training beyond…

20 hours ago·Cherokee County, United States

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