Minneapolis, MN
FBI raids Minneapolis, St. Cloud autism centers: What you need to know
Extending past Smart Therapy and Star Autism, Minnesota companies billed the state for roughly $400 million in both 2023 and 2024 for Minnesota Medical Assistance and related public health plans, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit to apply for the search warrants. That was up from $1.7 million in 2017.
Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, listed as Star Autism Center’s organizer in the LLC’s original state business filing, denied the fraudulent billing allegations.
“No. There was nothing like that, but I have nothing to say at the moment,” Yussuf said.
Asha Hassan, who is listed as Smart Therapy Center’s manager in state business filings, could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday.
Although there was a federal probe, no charges have been filed. Thursday’s raids were carried out in an attempt to gather evidence that may support an indictment, but it could be months before there’s a decision on whether to charge. In the Feeding Our Future case, FBI agents raided businesses in January 2022; criminal charges followed eight months later.