Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Tuesday afternoon that his office has filed 60 fraud-related charges against nine individuals accused of submitting about $3 million in fraudulent claims to Medical Assistance, the state's Medicaid program.
Most of the charges target people in the Twin Cities metro area, but the single largest case reaches outside it. Peter Jason Meilahn of Duluth — the only provider charged outside the metro — is accused of defrauding the program of more than $2.2 million over about five and a half years, according to the St. Cloud Times.
Ellison said Meilahn claimed to run psychotherapy services in Duluth and submitted 27,400 individual false claims for services that were never provided — and frequently kept billing Medicaid for months after he stopped treating patients.
"Patients listed in Meilahn's claims told us time and time again that Meilahn did not provide the services he claimed to provide," Ellison said at a Tuesday press conference. "Some said they'd never had a single session with Meilahn, but still, he billed Medicaid for his services."
Meilahn was charged with 11 felony theft offenses and two felony identity theft offenses.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit also charged Awo Mohamed of Roseville, owner of an agency called Always on Time, with six felony theft offenses tied to $675,000 in alleged fraudulent claims. Ellison said Mohamed conspired with two others to bill for services to people who could not have received them because they were in hospitals or jails at the time, billed for services lacking documentation, and billed for ineligible workers.
A press release from Ellison's office listed three coconspirators in Mohamed's case: Angela Ruth Johnson of Minneapolis, Mark Anthony Johnson of Brooklyn Park, and Qalid Hussein Hassan.
Kiddjazzminne Cherall Freeman of Minneapolis was charged with four counts of felony theft, five counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, one count of criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult, one count of identity theft, and one count of financial transaction card fraud. The alleged fraudulent billing totaled more than $17,000 for services not rendered.
Ellison also announced three unrelated cases against three people who allegedly billed a combined $150,000 for services they did not deliver: Michelle Tyrese Lucas Reed of Minneapolis, charged with six felony charges tied to $42,000 in fraudulent claims; Letrice Spigner of Minneapolis, charged with five felony theft counts tied to $77,000 in fraudulent claims; and Chala Bekama Alemo of Saint Paul, charged with four felony theft counts tied to $34,000 in fraudulent claims.
"Our MFCU unit is ranked No. 1 in the country among fraud convictions for similarly sized states," Ellison said. "We've won over 900 million in court-ordered recovery since 2019, and this May, medical assistance protection — the MAP Act — became law after a year of work from my office and friends in the legislature."
Nicholas Wanka, director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, said investigators hope to recover some of the money through attachment orders on bank accounts, but acknowledged some of it may already be spent.
All charges are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
— National Correspondent Network. Reporting based on the St. Cloud Times and statements from the Minnesota Attorney General's office.
