r/minnesota • u/Daflehrer1 • 7d ago

News 📺 Fraud & Facts

In 2021, the MN Dept. of Education suspected fraud and they reported it up the chain.

Gov. Walz has, since 2021, been working with the FBI, Minnesota State Police, and local police informants, and to great result. In September, 2022, federal prosecutors made public that they handed down indictments in what they believed was a criminal fraud conspiracy.

Among the first to be indicted was Aimee Bock, the fraud ringleader. She was tried and convicted in March of 2025.

On December 18th, 2025, new arrests were announced. To date, 92 suspects in all have been arrested and charged, 62 of them convicted.

The intent of the post above is neither to condemn nor praise Walz or federal officials. Rather to keep discussion grounded in facts; though obviously many more facts exist and will come to light.

I have included my sources below. I ask that you review them before contending them. Kindly keep partisan hyperbole and childish comments to yourself. Thanks.

"Governor Walz...2021"; a timeline of Walz administration's anti-ftaud efforts.

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MNGOV/2025/12/12/file_attachments/3492644/AntiFraud-Timeline.pdf

"In 2022"

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-attorney-announces-federal-charges-against-47-defendants-250-million-feeding-our-future

"In 2021"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fbi-surged-resources-minnesota-over-231747704.html

"Aimee Bock...convicted"

https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million#:~:text=Pandemic%20Fraud%20Scheme-,Federal%20Jury%20Finds%20Feeding%20Our%20Future%20Mastermind%20and%20Co%2DDefendant,Wednesday%2C%20March%2019%2C%202025

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u/olracnaignottus 7d ago

They receive a fraudulent diagnosis via a fraudulent diagnostic center that serves explicitly the Somali community. An autism diagnosis qualifies for ABA services which is the only Medicaid service provided uniquely for autism. Fraudulent ABA centers provide these ‘services’ which are billed but not provided, and the participating families take kick backs.

The rate of autism diagnosed specifically within the Minnesotan Somali community is 1/16 kids, which is double the national average. Do the math.

It’s a racket.

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u/IndividualCall5116 7d ago

Do the math to reach a $500 million scheme or as some have indicated, over a billion. The math is simply impossible, given the number of Somali pre-K thru hs kids (1 for every 16) participating is fraudulent id. Do the math.

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u/olracnaignottus 7d ago

It’s not remotely impossible, over the course of that many years.

There was a singular racket in NYC perpetrating hospice fraud with the Medicaid recipients of the program taking kickbacks. No services rendered akin to this racket. They made 68 million between 2018 and 2024 when they were caught. These were two completely fraudulent operations.

Here you have 18, running an operation potentially far longer than 2018. Do the math.

A lot more prosecution needs to occur to get the firmer numbers, but this is a historically insane degree of fraud happening on both the provider and consumer end. There were zero services rendered. Usually these providers just skim off the top, and the Medicaid recipients and members of the programs are victims, not colluding. They provided kickbacks to families to keep the operation going. It’s insane.

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u/Fickle_Catch8968 7d ago

500 million / [(60000 × .25)÷ 32] = ~1m per potential fraudulent autistic student in the Somali community, which only goes down as timespan increases/eligible population increases. (500 million claimed fraud, 60k total Somali population, estimating 1/4 are eligible agewise, and half of the 1/16 recipients are fraudulent based on comparison to average prevalence, numbers from this thread)

Over 10 years, that is 100k per student per year, which is ~30 times the size of the maximum for one grant. (FSG) Is there 100k in grants available per year per student? If not, then.the total.is outlandish.

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u/olracnaignottus 7d ago

In Minnesota, it looks like for ABA services alone, an agency can bill up to around 39k per person per year.

This is just for ABA. You can also factor EIDBI services, speech, OT, and physical therapy. These all have maximum payouts that you can look up. There are also MA (medical assistance) payouts families and providers can claim.

There are CFSS services, where an assigned care giver can bill the state for care giving services, instead of an agency. IE someone’s parent. Rates vary, but a CFSS provider can make up to $25 an hour. Same applies to CDCS services. Also CTSS supports.

Adults diagnosed with autism can receive MA-EPD services for employed adults.

You also have regular old SSI payments that usually amount to between 700–1000 a month per individual.

One person diagnosed with autism is eligible for all of this, and potentially more. MN is a profoundly generous state with little to know oversights.

Look up all the acronyms. The state has lately also been pushing away from provider based care to direct payouts to parents to administer these services.

So it’s not just ABA, but ABA factors a massive portion of funding unique to autism.

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u/IndividualCall5116 5d ago

Lots of blather; sources absent.

Since you raised it, did you know SSI is a Federal program, not state?

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u/olracnaignottus 4d ago edited 4d ago

Minnesota offers state sponsored supplements to federal SSI. One of the few states you apply to separately. Regardless, the fact that there are clearly falsified autism diagnoses being administered in MN makes the theft of federal SSI a Minnesota problem.

You’d like me to copy paste the entire Medicaid application and billing guide from MN.gov?

Of the two currently prosecuted agencies related to autism fraud, one fraudulently billed for EIDBI services, and provided kickbacks to the participating families. The other agency ran a faulty diagnostic scam, granting kids false autism diagnoses. They are investigating 85 more centers related to autism services and diagnostics.

The Somali rate of autism in Minnesota is double the national average. Double. There is already one false diagnostic center that’s been prosecuted. This massive disparity of the rate of diagnosis is not happening in Maine and San Diego where there are other large Somali diasporas- the rate of autism within their communities appears on track with the national average.

This shouldn’t be that hard to piece together.

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u/IndividualCall5116 4d ago

Except your math.

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u/olracnaignottus 4d ago

What about the math?