Jorden Borders sentenced to 468 months in prison
Crosslake woman sentenced in child torture and Medicaid fraud case referred to AGO by Crow Wing County Attorney
Case was tried jointly by AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Unit and Criminal Division
August 7, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, a Crow Wing County Judge sentenced Jorden Borders to 468 months in prison for her role in a child abuse and Medicaid fraud case occurring in Crosslake, Minnesota. After a three-week trial, District Court Judge Patricia Aanes found Borders guilty of three counts of child torture, three counts of stalking, four counts of theft by false representation, and one count of attempted murder on June 4, 2025. Judge Aanes also found the State proved the existence of several aggravating factors at trial, including that Borders abused her position of trust, one child victim was particularly vulnerable, and Borders acted with particular cruelty.
Borders’ parental rights to the three children have previously been terminated.
"Borders' crimes are some of the most heinous and agonizing I have seen in my time as Attorney General. I am praying for her children's recovery from the suffering and trauma they endured,” said Attorney General Ellison. “I am extremely grateful to everyone involved in holding Borders accountable, from the Crow Wing County and Stearns County Attorneys' Offices to the AG prosecutors and all our team on the case to the members of law enforcement who investigated.”
In November 2022, the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office charged Borders with child torture and stalking for crimes against her three children. The charges were later amended to include four counts of theft by false representation and attempted murder of one child. In February 2024, Crow Wing County Attorney Donald Ryan referred the case to Attorney General Ellison’s office under Minnesota Statutes Sec. 8.01, which provides, “Upon request of the county attorney, the attorney general shall appear in court in such criminal cases as the attorney general deems proper.”
The Crosslake Police Department, Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit all participated in the investigation of this case. The trial team included prosecutors and staff from the Attorney General Ellison’s office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Criminal Division. Attorney General Ellison extends his thanks to Crow Wing County Attorney Ryan and his staff for their support and assistance throughout the multi-week trial.
Attorney General Ellison also extends a special thanks to Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall and her office for permitting the trial team to use the Stearns County Attorney’s Office’s courthouse facility dog, Nova. Nova provided comfort and support for the three child victims during their testimony at trial.
Attorney General Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works to uncover, investigate, and prosecute individuals or organizations that steal from Medicaid and that exploit, neglect, or abuse vulnerable victims. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $4,409,872 for Federal fiscal year (FY)2025. The remaining 25%, totaling $1,469,955 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of Minnesota.
This past legislative session, Attorney General Ellison asked the Legislature for enhanced funding for the MFCU and for additional tools to better investigate and prosecute its cases, including changes to its subpoena authority that would be consistent with the authority county attorney’s have when conducting their investigations. Attorney General Ellison’s funding request would have allowed the Office to hire nine more staff in the MFCU, including seven new investigators and a new prosecutor. This request would have brought MFCU staffing levels in line with those of comparable states, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. An HHS OIG audit has also found that Minnesota’s MFCU already punches above its weight: from 2020–22, Minnesota won the most convictions for provider fraud when compared with similarly sized states.
Unfortunately, and despite 75% of the funding for these additional positions coming from the federal government, the Legislature denied Attorney General Ellison’s request to fund any new MFCU positions. The Legislature also did not enact any changes to enhance the MFCU’s authority to investigate and prosecute fraud cases, including its request for subpoena power matching that given to county attorney’s and penalties for medical assistance fraud that are consistent with penalties for other theft crimes codified in Minn. Stat. § 609.52.
This case is also a prime example of the kind of case the Criminal Division is now able to accept from county attorneys thanks to enhanced funding for the Criminal Division that the Minnesota Legislature passed in 2023. Attorney General Ellison asked the Legislature for this funding for four years, with Governor Tim Walz’s support, before the Legislature finally passed it.
