Attorney General Ellison partners with federal law enforcement on indictments of Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention and Home and Community Based Services providers
FBI and HHS/OIG worked closely with AG Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to investigate providers
May 21, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today praised the federal charges levied against numerous principals behind extensive fraud in Minnesota’s Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program. This includes fraud charges levied against providers in the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program and the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) program. The charges against some of these providers resulted from a joint state-federal investigation which Attorney General Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) took part in.
Today’s indictments allege that the principals all independently defrauded Minnesota’s Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program by billing services that were not delivered at all or were not eligible for payment from the Medicaid program.
Members of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit partnered with federal and state law enforcement, including the FBI and Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (DHHS/OIG) throughout the course of the following joint investigations.
Charges today were announced against Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Marsal Yusuf. These individuals are connected to Smart Therapy Autism Center, LLC. As identified when the principal owner, Asha Farhan Hassan, was indicted in September 2025, MFCU investigators participated in the in the Smart Therapy investigation, most prominently through execution of the search warrant at Smart Therapy in December 2024, where they seized voluminous evidence in conjunction with their federal partners.
Charges were also announced against Charles Healy, the owner and operator of Charles Healy Foster Home, LLC, and Katherin Suzan Larsen-Guthmiller. Healey claimed to provide home and community based services (HCBS) to Medicaid recipients in the Mankato area. The indictment alleges that Healy defrauded Medicaid by billing for services not provided and services not eligible for payment, and using the proceeds to enrich themselves. MFCU investigators participated in the investigation of Healy through interviews and data analysis.
“Today’s charges and guilty plea are an important step in combatting fraud and protecting our tax dollars,” said Attorney General Ellison. “I’m grateful to federal law enforcement for their partnership, and I’m grateful to the members of my office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the outstanding work they have and will continue to do to prosecute fraudsters. Minnesotans are a generous people, and we believe in supporting folks who need a helping hand. It boils my blood that fraudsters are taking advantage of that generosity, and my office and I will gladly partner with all those who are also committed to holding fraudsters accountable.”
The Minnesota Legislature recently passed Attorney General Ellison, Representative Norris, and Senator Johnson Stewart’s Medical Assistance Protection Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. The MAP Act provides the MFCU with funding to hire 18 new staff, expands the definition of Medicaid Fraud under State law, increases penalties for high-dollar offenses, and provides the MFCU with expanded subpoena authority. More information on the reforms contained in the Medical Assistance Protection Act can be found here.
A 2022 audit of Minnesota’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (DHHS/OIG) found that, during a three-year period, Minnesota’s MFCU had the highest number of convictions compared to similarly sized units.
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 $5,078,704 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2026. The remaining 25%, totaling $1,692,898 for FY 2026, is funded by the State of Minnesota.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
