Second Twin Cities Man Pleads Guilty in Minnesota Medicaid Housing Fraud Scheme That Took More Than $500,000

4,000 Brigham and Women’s Nurses Postpone Wednesday Strike to Vote on Hospital’s Best and Final Contract OfferBrigham and Women’s nurses postponed the Oct. 14 strike to vote on a final offer. See the pay, insurance, and staffing terms, and what patients face. Nearly 1 Million HealthCare.gov Enrollees in 30 States Are Getting $500 Treasury Checks That Require No ApplicationNearly 1 million HealthCare.gov enrollees who paid full price are getting $500 checks. See who qualifies and how to avoid scams tied to the payments. Parents Should Check Amazon Bath Seats and Dressers, Giant Bike Lock Keys, and Avengers Medals in New RecallsNew CPSC recalls cover Amazon baby bath seats and dressers, Giant LED bike lock keys, and Avengers medals. See what you own and how to get refunds. Chicago Marathon’s Record Field of More Than 55,000 Faces a Yellow-Flag Day with Highs Near 71 DegreesThe Chicago Marathon starts under a yellow flag with a forecast high near 71, above the 65-degree normal. Heat illness signs and when to stop. Mental Health Four Deaths in Evenamide Trials Prompt FDA Concern Over a Possible Fatal Heart Rhythm Signal in Schizophrenia DrugThe FDA flagged a possible fatal heart rhythm signal after four deaths in evenamide trials. What a safety signal means for people with schizophrenia. Frequent Mental Distress in Adults 18 to 29 Climbed From 12.7% to 21.3% Since 2012 Despite Recent DeclinesCDC data show 1 in 5 adults 18 to 29 report frequent mental distress, up from 2012 but down two years straight. Where to find help today. Veterans’ PTSD and Depression Relief After Ibogaine Largely Held for a Year in Small Stanford Study of 30Most veterans in a small Stanford ibogaine study kept their PTSD gains at 12 months, but the study had no control group, and heart risks remain. Hymns and Childhood Songs Topped the Phantom Music 81 Patients Heard, and Hearing Loss Was Often Not the CauseA Dutch study of people who hear music that isn’t playing found that half had no documented hearing loss, and most found the music a burden. Innovation Argenx Stops Phase 3 Vyvgart Trial in Sjögren’s Disease After Monitors Find the Study Cannot Meet Its GoalArgenx ended its Phase 3 UNITY trial of efgartigimod in Sjögren’s disease after a futility review. No new safety signals were found. Gene Therapy Paired with Special Goggles Improved Light Sensitivity in 7 of 10 Blind Retinitis Pigmentosa PatientsAn optogenetic gene therapy used with special goggles improved light sensitivity in 7 of 10 people with advanced retinitis pigmentosa in a small trial. GLP-1 Users with Diabetic Retinopathy Had Less Macular Edema Than Metformin Users by Year Seven in Unreviewed DataAn unreviewed AAO 2026 poster linked GLP-1 drugs to less diabetic macular edema than metformin over seven years. The gap was absent at one year. Leeches Dipped in Guinness Turned Erratic, and the Ones Placed on Garlic DiedA 1994 BMJ experiment tried beer, garlic, and sour cream to make medical leeches bite faster. Beer backfired, and garlic proved fatal. Healthy Living Hospital Pharmacies Must Stop Using Two Nationwide Lots of Brevital Anesthetic After Par Health Finds Cellulose in VialsPar Health recalled Brevital lots 86930 and 88623 after cellulose was found in vials. Steps hospitals must take and what sedation patients can ask. Northwest Indianapolis and Boone County Residents Told to Boil Water for 72 Hours After Main Break Drops PressureCitizens Energy issued a precautionary 72-hour boil advisory for northwest Indianapolis and part of Boone County after a main break cut off pressure. 638,000 Medicare Beneficiaries in 193 Counties Will Have No General Medicare Advantage Drug Plan for 2027KFF finds 193 counties will have no general Medicare Advantage drug plan in 2027, up from 123. What it means for coverage before open enrollment. Medical Supply Owner Gets 14 Years After Sham Telemedicine Orders Drove $30 Million in False Medical Equipment ClaimsAn Oklahoma supply owner got 14 years for $30 million in false claims built on telemedicine orders from clinicians who never saw patients. Covid – 19 FDA Proposes Requiring Companies to Report Food Additives That Now Reach Grocery Shelves Without Federal ReviewFDA has released its proposed GRAS rule requiring companies to notify the agency about food additives. Here is what the proposal does and does not do. Federal Regulators Warn Some Hair Dryer Brushes Lack the Part That Stops ElectrocutionCPSC warns hair dryer brushes sold on Walmart.com and TikTok Shop lack immersion protection. The seller has not agreed to a recall or refund. A Recalled Teething Toy Broke the Pattern Parents Were Told to Look ForA newly recalled pull-string teething toy has a different model number and design from earlier recalls, and one choking incident has been reported. Trying to Lower Blood Sugar, Cholesterol or Blood Pressure? Different Workouts Suited Different MarkersA pooled analysis of 53 trials found that different exercise types helped different metabolic markers. Most of the evidence was low certainty. DZHAFAROVA | AFP via Getty Images Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pocket A second Twin Cities man has admitted his role in a scheme that took more than $500,000 from a Minnesota Medicaid program meant to help seniors and people with disabilities find and keep stable housing. Ahmed Abdirashid Mohamed, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. His co-defendant, Hassan Ahmed Hussein, 29, entered a guilty plea to the same charge one week earlier, on Sept. 24.

Prosecutors said the two men enrolled their company, Pristine Health LLC, as a Medicaid provider in the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program. They then submitted claims for housing support that was never delivered and inflated other bills to collect higher payments. In total, the company billed Minnesota Medicaid more than $820,000, according to the federal government.

The case matters beyond the dollar figure. About 90 Medicaid members were enrolled through the company, and federal officials said some of them never agreed to receive services. For families who rely on Medicaid to support an older parent, a relative in recovery, or a loved one living with mental illness, the case shows how a benefit meant to prevent homelessness can be used without a member’s knowledge.

Housing Stabilization Services was a Medical Assistance benefit launched in 2020. According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, it was designed to help seniors and people with disabilities, including those with substance use disorders, obtain and maintain housing. Medical Assistance is the name of Minnesota’s Medicaid program.

Federal prosecutors said Pristine Health presented itself as a provider of that help. Instead, the men billed for services that did not happen and overstated the services they claimed to provide. The release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota does not state the exact years the scheme operated.

Both men now stand convicted of wire fraud through their pleas, but neither has been sentenced. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A federal judge will decide any sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors, and no sentencing dates have been announced. A maximum penalty is a ceiling set by law, not a prediction of the punishment either man will receive.

The FBI, the HHS Office of Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Fraud Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota are prosecuting it.

The Pristine Health case is tied to a program that no longer exists. Minnesota DHS ended Housing Stabilization Services on Oct. 31, 2025, after federal Medicare and Medicaid regulators approved the state’s request to terminate it because of widespread fraud. The state said new provider screening and investigation tools had been added that year, but fraud spread too quickly to wait and see whether those safeguards worked.

“It’s upsetting that we had to take this step to stop criminals from taking advantage of services intended to help people,” Temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said in the state’s announcement at the time. DHS said it received more than 200 public comments on the shutdown, with many focused on the welfare of people who used the benefit.

Federal officials framed the guilty pleas in similar terms. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said in the Justice Department release that fraud against public programs “is a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us.”

Christopher D. Dotson, special agent in charge of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office, said the programs “are meant to provide critical services to those most in need, not to line the pockets of fraudsters.” The case leaves an accountability question for Minnesota taxpayers and Medicaid families: how much was paid out before the state shut the program down.

MedicalDaily previously reported on four men who admitted using ChatGPT to fake records in a separate $2.2 million Housing Stabilization Services scheme. The Pristine Health case is smaller but adds to the federal convictions tied to the program.

The shutdown and the fraud cases fall hardest on the people the program was built for. Older adults, people with disabilities, and those managing mental illness or addiction often depend on steady housing to keep up with medications and recovery. When a benefit is misused and then closed, honest providers and their clients lose access too.

Families can take practical steps now. Medicaid members, or caregivers who help manage their benefits, can review statements and notices from their health plan or county for services they do not recognize. Anyone who sees billing for care that never happened, or who was enrolled in a program without consent, can report it to their managed care plan, county, or Minnesota DHS.

Former Housing Stabilization Services clients who still need help with housing can check the state’s housing resources page, which DHS set up to connect people with other options. The department said it was working with counties, Tribes, Urban Indian organizations, and managed care plans to help people find alternatives. People who are at immediate risk of losing housing should contact their county human services office as soon as possible.

Caregivers who notice missed medications, worsening mental health, or signs of relapse during a housing disruption should talk with a clinician or care coordinator. Thoughts of self-harm require urgent help, including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

DHS has said it is exploring a redesigned version of the benefit with stronger safeguards, though no replacement has been announced. The next step in this case is sentencing, which the court will schedule later. MedicalDaily will follow the case and any new charges tied to the program.

The guilty pleas confirm that two men billed Medicaid for housing help that vulnerable Minnesotans never received, but the final punishment remains undecided. For families, the most useful response is to check benefit records, report anything suspicious, and seek housing or health help through official channels rather than unverified providers.

What happened in the Pristine Health case?

Two Twin Cities men, Hassan Ahmed Hussein and Ahmed Abdirashid Mohamed, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for submitting false claims to Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program. Hussein pleaded guilty on Sept. 24, 2026, and Mohamed followed on Oct. 1, 2026.

Federal prosecutors said the scheme defrauded the program of more than $500,000. Pristine Health billed Minnesota Medicaid more than $820,000 in total, including claims for services never provided and inflated bills.

No. Both have pleaded guilty, which results in a conviction, but sentencing has not been scheduled. Each faces up to 20 years in prison, and a federal judge will decide any sentence.

It was a Minnesota Medical Assistance benefit launched in 2020 to help seniors and people with disabilities, including those with substance use disorders, find and keep housing. DHS ended the program on Oct. 31, 2025, citing widespread fraud.

About 90 Medicaid members were enrolled through Pristine Health, and some never consented to services. Taxpayers and honest providers were also affected when the program was shut down.

What should Medicaid members do if they suspect fraud?

Members and caregivers can review health plan and county notices for services they do not recognize and report concerns to their managed care plan, county, or Minnesota DHS. People who need housing help can contact county human services.

The court will set sentencing dates for both men later. DHS has said it is exploring a redesigned housing benefit with stronger safeguards, but no replacement program has been announced.