Minnesota Is Currently Paying An Indicted Somali Fraudster To Run ‘Assisted Living’ Homes
A Somali man under federal indictment for his role in the largest COVID-era fraud in U.S. history is still raking in millions from Minnesota taxpayers.
Gandi Yusuf Mohamed, who later changed his name to Gandi Abdi Kediye, was indicted in 2024 for laundering $1.1 million tied to the Feeding Our Future scheme. Yet between 2019 and 2024, he received another $49 million from other state programs. His trial is set for 2026.
Despite the indictment, Kediye continues to operate multiple assisted living homes—facilities where adults live and receive services funded by Medicaid. According to State Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, these homes are part of a broader network of fraud that has gone largely unaddressed by the Democrat-controlled state government.
Kediye even used his new name to purchase two homes under the LLC “ALF 17.” One of those homes was acquired using the same LLC involved in the federal money laundering charges. The state of Minnesota paid this business $132,000 just this year. Robbins called it a failure of basic cross-checking. “If we haven’t cross-checked people who are indicted to see what other services they’ve received, we have failed,” she said.
The Feeding Our Future case involved Somali-run nonprofits billing the federal government for millions of non-existent meals. According to the DOJ, Kediye’s brother was also involved in the scheme.
Robbins’ committee, staffed by just one researcher using public records, uncovered how Kediye and other fraudsters bought dozens of homes through connected realtors. These homes were converted into assisted living facilities or adult daycare centers, billing massive sums to the state.
In one case, an operator billed $1.6 million despite a recipient testifying he received no medical services. The state cut him off from one Medicaid program but allowed him to continue billing under another.
Another operator—who also owns a mining business in Africa and ran a restaurant shut down for illegal gambling—billed $826,000 from a four-bedroom house. He claimed one of his assisted living homes as his primary residence to avoid property taxes, despite listing a different address for that purpose.
The scale of the fraud is breathtaking. Robbins pointed out that a single address used by one operator was tied to over 100 so-called healthcare companies. Another individual billed over $600,000 this year for adult daycare services operating from that same address.
The surge in fraud coincides with a massive expansion of Medicaid-funded programs in the state. Adult day care providers increased 43 percent over the last decade, yet the need for such services only rose 7 percent. The Minnesota Department of Human Services admitted it lacked the staffing and tech to monitor the system. Medicaid Director John Collins couldn’t even estimate how much spending had grown.
Governor Tim Walz’s administration has presided over the explosion in fraud, while his Department of Human Services and Department of Health have claimed ignorance. At a hearing, Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham denied knowledge of any credible allegations of fraud in assisted living. Robbins responded, “That would imply that they don’t have whistleblowers to their own agency, which is false.”
Whistleblowers have allegedly been ignored by Attorney General Keith Ellison and the state’s executive branch. Kediye, the indicted fraudster, even gave the maximum campaign contribution to Ellison.
Democrats have blocked key reforms, according to Robbins. That includes opposing a new statewide inspector general and resisting efforts to audit Medicaid programs dominated by Somali operators. She said race and religion were used to shield bad actors from scrutiny.
“People were told to be quiet because they didn’t want to be considered Islamophobic,” Robbins said. In fact, some of those indicted in the Feeding Our Future case sued the state for racism.
Despite clear evidence of fraud, Democrats continue to expand Medicaid waivers that make it easier to game the system. At least 14 such programs are considered high risk, and only one has been terminated.
If the federal government demands Minnesota repay funds, it could cripple the state budget. Robbins warned that unless the fraud is addressed, Medicaid will collapse under its own weight.
At the hearing, disability advocate Nate Olsen became emotional, saying his brother’s care is being endangered. “Our governor is not doing anything to help us except to sit here and decide he wants to blame the president of the United States, who has nothing to do with this,” Olsen said. “There is a time to hold our governor accountable, and I’m not seeing it.”
This scandal, rooted in unchecked migration and a broken trust-based Medicaid model, is now costing real people their care. As Robbins put it, “We need to refocus on the original intent of Medicaid: health care for the elderly and disabled.”