Attorney General Ellison wins as Court of Appeals reinstates jury’s guilty verdict in $7.2 million Medicaid fraud case

AG Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged Abdifatah Yusuf in June 2024 for billing Medicaid for services not provided, falsely documented, or overbilled; Yusuf used money to fund lavish lifestyle

At August 2025 trial, MFCU presented ample evidence of Yusuf’s guilt and jury returned verdict of guilty; however, district court granted Yusuf’s motion for judgment of acquittal

AG Ellison appealed; Court of Appeals opinion today reverses district court judgment of acquittal and remands to district court for resentencing

October 26, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) obtained a victory at the Minnesota Court of Appeals that reinstates the jury’s guilty verdict in a $7.2 million Medicaid fraud provider case that MFCU filed against Abdifatah Abdulkadir Yusuf. 

“I’m very pleased with the Court of Appeals decision today. My Medicaid fraud-fighting team and I feel strongly that we presented more than ample evidence at trial of Yusuf’s guilt, so we felt it imperative to appeal the district court’s entry of a judgment of acquittal. Yusuf committed significant fraud against both taxpayers and the people who need the services he was supposed to provide that help them live at home and in community. All Minnesotans can be as relieved as I am that he will finally be found guilty and will be held accountable for his serious crimes,” Attorney General Ellison said.

In June 2024, Attorney General Ellison’s MFCU charged Yusuf with fraudulently obtaining Medicaid funds through his agency, Promise Health Services LLC. After a jury trial in August 2025, a Hennepin County jury found Yusuf guilty of six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle (over $35,000). The jury also found multiple aggravating factors existed to support an upward departure from the Minnesota sentencing guidelines.

AG Ellison’s MFCU presented several days’ worth of voluminous evidence to the jury at the August 2025 trial. The jury found this evidence proved that Yusuf bilked the Minnesota Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program through his agency, Promise Health Services, LLC.  Promise claimed to provide home- and community-based services, but it lacked any office building and operated for years out of a mailbox. Yusuf and his family members fraudulently obtained Medicaid funds by billing for services not provided, services that were billed based on false documentation, services that were overbilled, services that were billed but lacked any documentation to support the services, and kickbacks provided to recipients to induce them to receive “services” from the agency.

While Yusuf operated Promise, the agency stole approximately $7.2 million from Minnesota’s Medicaid program, known as Medical Assistance. MFCU investigators determined that Yusuf frequently used the money stolen from the Medicaid program to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his family, including directing over $1 million from the Promise business account into Yusuf’s personal account and withdrawing over $387,000 in cash. Yusuf and his wife also spent more than $22,000 at furniture stores despite Promise lacking any physical office space, spent over $42,000 at luxury automotive dealers, and over $80,000 at luxury clothing stores including Coach, Canada Goose, Michael Kors, Third Degree Heat, Nike, and Nordstrom.

Following the verdict, Yusuf moved the district court for a judgment of acquittal. Yusuf argued that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew of the fraud at Promise and intended to aid it. Over the MFCU’s objection, the Hennepin County District Court granted the motion, which then led to Yusuf’s acquittal. 

Attorney General Ellison’s MFCU then appealed the district court’s ruling. On appeal, the MFCU argued to the Court of Appeals that the evidence was more than sufficient to prove Yusuf’s knowledge and intent, and that the district court’s ruling did not comply with a proper application of the circumstantial evidence test.

In its ruling today, the Court of Appeals agreed with the MFCU. The Court of Appeals pointed to the evidence that MFCU presented showing Yusuf was not operating a legitimate provider agency, that he was not oblivious to the Promise operations, and that he substantially benefited from the fraud, including earning over $1 million himself. The Court of Appeals also found that it was not reasonable to believe Yusuf did not know of the fraud given Yusuf’s failure to operate Promise out of a physical location, his failure to disclose his brother, and his immense profiteering while the fraud occurred.

This case was the product of a joint investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) in the Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (DHHS/OIG). The agencies received substantial assistance from the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau’s fraud investigators (now housed in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s State Fraud Unit), and the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Forensic Lab. The Minnesota MFCU in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case at trial in Hennepin County District Court, and the MFCU Director litigated the case at the Court of Appeal.

Accomplishments of Attorney General Ellison’s MFCU

Since 2019, Minnesota’s MFCU has secured 358 convictions for Medicaid fraud and has won $90 million in judgments and recoveries. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has noted 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, which provides MFCU with new resources and stronger legal tools to continue holding Medicaid fraudsters accountable.

The U.S. Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General recently noted that Minnesota’s MFCU “is using its resources effectively to investigate cases of possible fraud in the administration of the Medicaid program, the provision of medical assistance, or the activities of providers of medical assistance under the State Medicaid plan, and to prosecute cases or cooperate with the prosecuting authorities” and that it is “extremely willing to work jointly and pursue aggressive prosecution of fraud.” 

Attorney General Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit spends 100% of its time working 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.