All articles tagged with #minnesota
Fifteen people were indicted on federal charges for schemes that drained more than $90 million from Minnesota’s Medicaid programs serving children, the homeless, and disabled residents, including a record autism-services fraud case; federal officials framed it as a major victory in a broader crackdown with expanded Medicaid strike force teams.
The Department of Justice indicted 15 Minnesotans for a $90 million Medicaid fraud scheme tied to autism services. CMS has withheld Medicaid payments over fraud concerns, and Minnesota plans to revalidate high‑risk providers as part of a broader crackdown, highlighting tensions between the Trump administration and state oversight of federal funds.
A federal judge sentenced Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock to nearly 42 years in prison for orchestrating what prosecutors called the largest pandemic fraud scheme in the U.S., a $250 million operation that exploited federal child nutrition programs via a web of fake distribution sites, kickbacks, and phony lists of children; the case spurred broader fraud prosecutions in Minnesota and highlighted a sprawling network that ensnared dozens of others.
Federal prosecutors charged 15 Minnesotans with defrauding government social-service programs in a Covid-era scheme that authorities say siphoned more than $90 million (part of more than $250 million statewide) with about $50 million recovered; the charges span the Federal Child Nutrition Program, state childcare grants, Medicaid, and housing programs, including inflated meal counts, exaggerated staff hours, and even autism-diagnosis schemes to obtain funds. Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock was sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison in the broader case; the investigation included 22 search warrants and officials called it one of the nation’s largest Covid-era frauds.
Former Feeding Our Future executive director Aimee Bock was sentenced to 41.5 years in federal prison for leading a scheme that defrauded more than $240 million from a federal child meals program. Convicted in March 2025 of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy, she was ordered to pay about $243 million in restitution. The case has spurred widespread scrutiny and prosecutions—nearly 80 people charged with over 60 convictions—though the sentence fell short of prosecutors’ 50-year request.
A federal judge sentenced Aimee Bock, the former head of Feeding Our Future, to nearly 42 years in prison for leading a $250 million COVID-19 meals fraud scheme prosecutors call the country’s largest such fraud, described as a cash pipeline with fake meal lists and kickbacks; the case involved a broader fraud network and intersected with debates over immigration enforcement and pandemic relief oversight.
Aimee Bock, the ringleader of Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future $250 million fraud scheme, was sentenced to 500 months (about 41½ years) in federal prison and ordered to repay roughly $243 million after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and federal programs bribery; prosecutors say the case was the largest pandemic-fueled fraud in the country that diverted funds meant to feed hungry children.
Federal prosecutors are seeking a 50-year prison sentence for Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, in a case tied to alleged fraud in a federal child-nutrition program; Bock appeared at the Minneapolis federal courthouse with her attorney as the sentencing phase of the case advances.
Federal prosecutors charged Fahima Egeh Mahamud with conspiracy to defraud the CCAP in the Feeding Our Future scheme, alleging her Minneapolis center filed more than 13,000 CCAP claims and claimed about $4.6 million in reimbursements without required parental co-pays, plus $854,000 in related reimbursements; separately, Jillaine Mertens, owner of three Minnesota childcare centers, is charged with wire fraud for inflating hours and filing fraudulent payroll claims to obtain about $425,000 in Great Start funds.
In Minneapolis, top Trump administration officials will announce major fraud enforcement actions in Minnesota, following several federal indictments tied to healthcare, housing, and child-care schemes.
The Minnesota DNR says multiple people of interest have been identified as investigators probe the source of the Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County; the blaze has burned about 1,666 acres (2.6 square miles) and is 60% contained, with no injuries and evacuation orders lifted. The origin is near the north shore of Flanders Lake, between Breezy Point and Highway 6, and authorities are asking for trail camera or home surveillance footage from May 15–17. County Road 11 reopened as crews work to contain the fire. In a separate update, the Stewart Trail Fire near Two Harbors is now 100% contained at just over 350 acres.
Hennepin County prosecutors charged ICE agent Christian Castro in a nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man during Trump's immigration crackdown.
The NFL is expected to award the 2028 draft to Minnesota, with league owners set to finalize the decision at this week’s meeting after talks with league officials and the Vikings; Minnesota’s bid highlights events at U.S. Bank Stadium and other Twin Cities sites, continuing the league’s rotating-host model, with next year’s draft planned for Washington, D.C.
A Forecast First Alert is in effect Sunday evening through Monday as Minnesota faces multiple rounds of potentially severe storms, with large hail, damaging winds, heavy rain and isolated tornadoes possible. The first round could arrive after 7 p.m. Sunday and continue overnight, followed by a second round Monday afternoon; risk areas include central/southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with the Twin Cities metro potentially added depending on Sunday’s activity.
The Minnesota Department of Health says one Minnesota resident who was overseas may have been exposed to hantavirus from someone who tested positive on the MV Hondius cruise ship. The person has no symptoms, and public risk is very low; they are being monitored daily. The Hondius outbreak has at least eight other confirmed or suspected cases. Hantaviruses spread from rodents, and only the Andes strain is known to transmit between people in close contact.