Two Minnesota women charged in $21 million Medicaid autism fraud scheme
Shamso Ahmed Hassan, 55, and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, 25, allegedly submitted more than $46 million in fraudulent claims and laundered $21 million of those proceeds, according to court filings and statements from prosecutors.
by Quincy Thomas Thursday May 28, 2026
Shamso Ahmed Hassan and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf
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Federal prosecutors say two Minnesota women played a central role in a sprawling fraud tied to the state’s autism Medicaid program, in a case they describe as one of the largest of its kind.
Shamso Ahmed Hassan, 55, and Hanaan Mursal Yusuf, 25, allegedly submitted more than $46 million in fraudulent claims and laundered $21 million of those proceeds, according to court filings and statements from prosecutors.
Authorities allege that from May 2020 through December 2024, the pair conspired to defraud the EIDBI program by billing Medicaid for services that were never provided and, in some cases, delivered by staff who were not qualified to offer them. The scheme, prosecutors say, relied on false documentation to support claims for treatment that did not exist.
The women offered families a $300 to $1,500 monthly kickback to get their kids enrolled in the fraud scheme. The $21.1 million disbursed by Medicaid was then laundered through property purchases and transferred to Kenya via wire transfers.
Hassan and Yusuf are among 15 defendants charged in what prosecutors say is the biggest fraud bust ever linked to an autism Medicaid program. The overall loss is estimated at more than $90 million.
Hanaan Yusuf and Shamso Hassan plead not guilty.
