Four Minnesota men pleaded guilty to stealing $2.2 million from the state’s Medicaid program — using ChatGPT to fabricate records and hide the fraud.
The scheme ran for three years before federal investigators shut it down.
According to the Department of Justice press release, the defendants enrolled a fake company — Brilliant Minds Services LLC — as a Medicaid provider in St. Paul’s Griggs-Midway Building.
They promised to help vulnerable populations: seniors, people with mental illness, people struggling with addiction. The service was supposed to help them find and keep housing through Minnesota’s now-defunct Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program.
“They promised to help people with disabilities–including seniors and people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders—find and maintain housing through the State’s now-defunct HHS program. Instead, they submitted thousands of HSS claims to Medicaid for services that were never provided or significantly inflated the claims for higher reimbursements.”
Approximately 350 people were signed up for the program by the defendants — none received the services they were promised.
The men billed Medicaid anyway.
When investigators started circling, the defendants turned to ChatGPT. They used the AI chatbot to fabricate service records and billing documentation in an attempt to cover their tracks.
Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. They face up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.
The defendants — all from the Twin Cities area — are:
- Moktar Hassan Aden, 31
- Mustafa Dayib Ali, 29
- Khalid Ahmed Dayib, 26
- Abdifitah Mohamud Mohamed, 27
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division didn’t mince words.
“These defendants corruptly exploited vulnerable people and a vulnerable program to enrich themselves. Taxpayer dollars designed to provide shelter and support for the homeless and needy instead went to the pockets of these men. They have now admitted their fraudulent conduct and will face justice for their crimes. In the meantime, our work to stamp out fraud in Minnesota will continue in abandon.”
The charges come the same week HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was pausing over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to Minnesota and California over suspected fraud and noncompliance.
Minnesota’s share of the deferred funding — $199 million — was tied to 14 high-risk service areas flagged by state auditors.
Kennedy said both governors know how to get the money released: provide basic documentation showing the services are legitimate.
The feds are tightening the screws on Medicaid fraud nationwide — and Minnesota appears to be ground zero.
