Another Somali Fraudster Just Pleaded Guilty to Stealing $6M in Autism Center Scheme

The owner of a Minnesota “autism center” has pleaded guilty in yet another massive fraud scheme.

Abdinajib Yussuf started his autism center when he was 22 years old, hiring “unqualified” staff, billing impossible hours, and paying kickbacks to families who signed children up for the center, according to independent journalist Nick Shirley.

Shriley writes, “The Fraudster Yussuf started the “center” at just 22 and hired unqualified staff, billed impossible hours, and paid kickbacks to families to sign kids up. He sent over $200,000 to Kenya bought a $100,000 semi-truck and admitted in court he didn’t even know anyone with autism — “investors” supplied fake clients while he handled the paperwork and fraud. 

Here’s more from CBS News:

A man who claimed to provide services for children with autism in Minnesota but instead raked in millions of dollars from fraudulent Medicaid billings pleaded guilty on Monday.

Abdinajib Yussuf pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Charges say he opened Star Autism Center in St. Cloud in 2020 under the guise of providing one-on-one therapy to children with autism. 

According to a federal indictment, he approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children into Star Autism. If the child did not have an autism diagnosis, he would work with a service professional to get the child qualified for services.

Court documents say Yussuf submitted millions of dollars worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement. He collected more than $6 million in reimbursement funds from the Minnesota Department of Services and UCare.

He’d share some of the kickbacks with the parents who enrolled their children in Star Autism, charges say. Prosecutors said he also bought a $100,000 Freightliner semi truck and sent $200,000 to Kenya. 

Star Autism Center was raided by the FBI in 2024 alongside Smart Therapy Center. The woman who ran Smart Therapy stole $14 million in Medicaid funds, pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in December.

Remember, Democrats will tell us with straight faces that our problem is not spending, it’s that we don’t steal enough money from billionaires.

The Justice Department also released a statement on Yussuf’s arrest last December.

In the Autism fraud scheme, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, age 27, has been charged by federal information with one count of wire fraud. As set forth in the information, Yussuf and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention benefit, a publicly funded Minnesota Health Care Program that offers medically necessary services to people under the age of 21 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Yussuf was the President and CEO of Star Autism Center LLC.

From late 2020 through December 2024, Yussuf used Star Autism to carry out a scheme to defraud the EIDBI program.  Star Autism purported to provide necessary one-on-one therapy to children with autism.  In fact, Star Autism employed unqualified individuals as “behavioral technicians.”  These behavioral technicians were often 18- or 19-year-old relatives, with no formal education beyond high school and no training or certifications related to the treatment of autism.

To run their fraud scheme, Yussuf and his partners needed children who had an autism diagnosis and an individual treatment plan.  They approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children into Star Autism.  If a child did not have an autism diagnosis, Yussuf and his partners worked to get the recruited child qualified for autism services.

As a recruitment tactic to drive up enrollment, Star Autism paid monthly cash kickback payments to parents who enrolled their children to receive EIDBI services through Star Autism.  The amount of these payments was contingent on the services DHS authorized a child to receive—the higher the authorization amount, the higher the kickback.

Simply incredible.

Shirley is showing us how real journalism works.

Yes, they should pay.

That was a missed opportunity.

That’s an excellent question that will require follow-up. Yussuf faces up to 20 years in prison, but no sentencing date has been set yet.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

Help Townhall continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.

The owner of a Minnesota “autism center” has pleaded guilty in yet another massive fraud scheme.

Abdinajib Yussuf started his autism center when he was 22 years old, hiring “unqualified” staff, billing impossible hours, and paying kickbacks to families who signed children up for the center, according to independent journalist Nick Shirley.

Shriley writes, “The Fraudster Yussuf started the “center” at just 22 and hired unqualified staff, billed impossible hours, and paid kickbacks to families to sign kids up. He sent over $200,000 to Kenya bought a $100,000 semi-truck and admitted in court he didn’t even know anyone with autism — “investors” supplied fake clients while he handled the paperwork and fraud. 

Here’s more from CBS News:

A man who claimed to provide services for children with autism in Minnesota but instead raked in millions of dollars from fraudulent Medicaid billings pleaded guilty on Monday.

Abdinajib Yussuf pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Charges say he opened Star Autism Center in St. Cloud in 2020 under the guise of providing one-on-one therapy to children with autism. 

According to a federal indictment, he approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children into Star Autism. If the child did not have an autism diagnosis, he would work with a service professional to get the child qualified for services.

Court documents say Yussuf submitted millions of dollars worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement. He collected more than $6 million in reimbursement funds from the Minnesota Department of Services and UCare.

He’d share some of the kickbacks with the parents who enrolled their children in Star Autism, charges say. Prosecutors said he also bought a $100,000 Freightliner semi truck and sent $200,000 to Kenya. 

Star Autism Center was raided by the FBI in 2024 alongside Smart Therapy Center. The woman who ran Smart Therapy stole $14 million in Medicaid funds, pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in December.

Remember, Democrats will tell us with straight faces that our problem is not spending, it’s that we don’t steal enough money from billionaires.

The Justice Department also released a statement on Yussuf’s arrest last December.

In the Autism fraud scheme, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, age 27, has been charged by federal information with one count of wire fraud. As set forth in the information, Yussuf and others devised and carried out a scheme to defraud the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention benefit, a publicly funded Minnesota Health Care Program that offers medically necessary services to people under the age of 21 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  Yussuf was the President and CEO of Star Autism Center LLC.

From late 2020 through December 2024, Yussuf used Star Autism to carry out a scheme to defraud the EIDBI program.  Star Autism purported to provide necessary one-on-one therapy to children with autism.  In fact, Star Autism employed unqualified individuals as “behavioral technicians.”  These behavioral technicians were often 18- or 19-year-old relatives, with no formal education beyond high school and no training or certifications related to the treatment of autism.

To run their fraud scheme, Yussuf and his partners needed children who had an autism diagnosis and an individual treatment plan.  They approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children into Star Autism.  If a child did not have an autism diagnosis, Yussuf and his partners worked to get the recruited child qualified for autism services.

As a recruitment tactic to drive up enrollment, Star Autism paid monthly cash kickback payments to parents who enrolled their children to receive EIDBI services through Star Autism.  The amount of these payments was contingent on the services DHS authorized a child to receive—the higher the authorization amount, the higher the kickback.

Simply incredible.

Shirley is showing us how real journalism works.

Yes, they should pay.

That was a missed opportunity.

That’s an excellent question that will require follow-up. Yussuf faces up to 20 years in prison, but no sentencing date has been set yet.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

Help Townhall continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.