|
Dear Friend –
Should fraudsters be grounded?
Let me know what you think:
Fugitive Fraudsters Flying High on Taxpayer Dollars
Minneapolis’ airport is the favorite hub for fraudsters trying to catch a flight without getting caught themselves.
Nearly $1 million of cash stashed in luggage leaves the country every day from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The large sums are suspicious because they exceed the amounts flying out of every other U.S. airport, and millions of dollars stolen from taxpayers are being traced from Minnesota to foreign destinations.
 Fugitive fraudsters boarding Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The state is doing little to ground the fraudsters, even after they’re caught.
The mastermind behind Minnesota’s largest Medicaid scam was able to flee the country because he was released on bail without his passport being confiscated.
Despite being previously convicted of Medicaid fraud, Abdirashid Ismail Said never stopped swindling the health care program for the disabled and disadvantaged. Said and his accomplices fraudulently billed Medicaid for nearly $11 million over four years. During a probation violation hearing related to his prior conviction, Said lied under oath, denying any involvement with the latest con job.
With his wife and child living in Kenya, Said possessed both the obvious means and opportunity to be a flight risk. A case detective even cautioned the court, “Given the nature and severity of the charges, and Said’s familial ties outside the jurisdiction of Minnesota, I believe there is a potential Said may flee, hide, or otherwise prevent the execution of the warrant.”
Clearly, this serial fraudster should never have been trusted with taxpayer money or afforded the privilege of international travel. Nevertheless, the judge presiding over the case released Said from custody without any restrictions in exchange for his posting bail. He skipped his court appearance and most likely left the country.
This fugitive fraudster is just one of the staggering 18,000 criminal suspects who were no-shows in court or violated probation in the area.
The chief judge in the jurisdiction says the judges are “doing our best to predict the unpredictable.” Heeding the flight risk warnings of detectives might help.
Another fugitive fraudster, Kaamil Omar Sallah, outsmarted Minnesota twice. First, by making off with more than a million dollars from the state’s Medicaid housing program and then by taking off for overseas when investigators caught onto his scheme.
Minnesota paid Sallah nearly $1.3 million to provide Housing Stabilization Services between 2023 and 2025. Instead of helping find housing for seniors, people with disabilities, and the disadvantaged, Sallah spent the taxpayer money on himself. He amassed so much money so quickly by double-billing services for multiple beneficiaries at the very same time, which is not permitted or even possible. Sallah personally claimed to have worked more than 3,600 billable service hours in a single year—that’s 70 hours a week!
When federal agents served Sallah with a grand jury subpoena, he fled the U.S. to Amsterdam.
While Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison claims, “I remain committed to doing everything I can to hold Said and other Medicaid fraudsters accountable,” the crooks are laughing all the way to the bank, and then the airport.
These serial fraudsters were repeatedly allowed to steal millions of dollars and then flee justice, and the country, and now we’re supposed to believe the state’s attorney general is doing everything he can to catch them?
No one is taking Ellison seriously, especially the fraudsters.
In fact, fraud tourists are actually traveling to Minnesota. Crooks “living on the other side of the country” say they “heard” the state is “a good opportunity to make money” by ripping off public programs.
That’s why I am giving my June 2026 Squeal Award to fugitive fraudsters flying first-class with passports in hand and stolen taxpayer money stuffed in their carry-on.
Many of those on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list are also considered flight risks; it’s time we ground them for good while they cool their jets awaiting justice.
The low bail to get out of jail makes Minnesota the ultimate getaway for fraudsters. While the state may let the scammers out of prison, we don’t have to allow them to leave the country.
A passport won’t be necessary for fraudsters to reach their final destination, which will be behind bars.
That’s why I’m introducing The Preventing Fugitive Fraudsters Act, requiring indicted fraudsters accused of stealing taxpayer dollars to surrender their passports before any pretrial release unless they can prove this requirement is unjust or unnecessary.
Anyone ripping off hardworking Americans doesn’t need a passport to reach their final destination, which is behind bars.
Squeal Award: Fugitive Fraudsters
For more updates on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and Iowa, be sure to 'Like' my Facebook page, follow me on X and Instagram @SenJoniErnst, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Thank you!
|