Attorney General Ellison announces Medicaid fraud charges against seven as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day

Charged providers collectively billed over $700,000 for services not rendered or rendered by unlicensed personnel

June 23, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) participated in National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day with the Department of Justice and over 40 State Medicaid Fraud Control Units.  Minnesota’s MFCU participated by charging seven individual providers with over $700,000 in Medicaid Fraud, as follows: 

• Tremayne Lamar Jackson, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was charged by complaint in Ramsey County District Court with seven felony theft offenses in connection with defrauding the Minnesota medical assistance program of over $125,000.  As alleged in the complaint, Jackson claimed to provide over 6,000 hours of personal care assistant services, companion care services, and homemaker services in Minnesota when he could not have provided them, including during a nearly two year period of time where he served as a college basketball coach in Haviland, Kansas. Jackson was referred to the Minnesota MFCU by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).
• Christine Marie Pryor, of Fargo, North Dakota, was charged by complaint in Clay County District Court with six theft offense and six identity theft offenses in connection with defrauding the Minnesota medical assistance program out of over $150,000.  As alleged in the complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Pryor, instead, unlawfully used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals, who had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions, while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to over 160 Medicaid clients. UCare referred Pryor to the Minnesota MFCU.
• Fernando Navarro, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was charged by complaint in Hennepin County District Court with four felony theft offenses for bilking the Minnesota medical assistance program out of nearly $70,000.  As alleged in the complaint, Navarro claimed to provide personal care assistant services in Minnesota to a child for nearly 25 months after the child moved to California.  A private citizen referred Navarro to MFCU.
• Shawki Elsaid, of Blaine, Minnesota, was charged by complaint in Anoka County District Court with eight theft crimes and two identity theft crimes for defrauding the Minnesota medical assistance program out of over $182,000.00. As alleged in the complaint, Elsaid had over 1,655 separate submissions of fraudulent claims for PCA services he did not render. Elsaid claimed to render services while he was out of the country, or the recipient he was claiming to provide services to was out of the country. He also obtained and used the identity of others to document PCA services that were not provided, while Elsaid pocketed the funds used to pay for the services not rendered.  The Crystal Police Department referred Elsaid to MFCU.
• Ahmed Agwa, of Blaine, Minnesota, was charged by complaint in Anoka County District Court with six felony theft offenses for swindling the Minnesota medical assistance program out of over $94,000.00. As alleged in the complaint, Agwa billed for over 588 hours of PCA services while he was out of the country, over 3,420 hours of services while the recipient was out of the country, and over 98 hours of services after the recipient died.  The Crystal Police Department referred Elsaid to MFCU.
• Edward Sherrod, of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, was charged by complaint in Ramsey County District Court with six felony theft offenses. As alleged in the complaint, Sherrod bilked the Minnesota medical assistance program out of over $60,000 by billing for over 3,500 hours of personal care assistant services that did not occur as alleged because Sherrod was working at another job or was providing services to a different recipient in a different location at the same time.  The Minnesota Department of Human Services referred Sherrod to MFCU.
• Jessica Wavra, of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, was charged by complaint in Polk County District Court with five theft offenses. As alleged in the complaint, Wavra defrauded the Minnesota medical assistance program out of over $29,000 by billing for adult rehabilitative mental health services (ARMHS) and targeted case management services that she did not provide.  UCare referred Wavra to MFCU.

AG Ellison’s MFCU is prosecuting all of these cases.

"I have no patience for anyone who would steal our tax dollars, especially when those tax dollars are meant to provide health care for low-income Minnesotans who couldn’t afford it otherwise,” said Attorney General Ellison. “My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is one of the best in the nation, and today’s charges demonstrate that we are working hard day in and day out to hold Medicaid fraudsters accountable and recover the tax dollars they stole from hardworking Minnesotans.”

Since 2019, Minnesota’s MFCU has secured more than 340 convictions for Medicaid fraud and has won $90 million in judgments and recoveries. An audit from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that Minnesota’s MFCU has secured more convictions than any state in the country with a similarly sized Medicaid budget. In May 2026, the Minnesota Legislature passed and Governor Walz signed the Medical Assistance Protection Act (MAP Act), which provides MFCU with new resources and stronger legal tools to continue holding Medicaid fraudsters accountable. Attorney General Ellison, Senator Ann Johnson Stewart, and Representative Matt Norris originally introduced the MAP Act in the 2025 legislative session. While it did not pass in 2025, Attorney General Ellison and the bill authors spent the next year working to garner bipartisan support for the legislation, leading to its passage in 2026. 

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.