In another jaw-dropping example of Minnesota’s collapsing justice system under far-left Governor Tim Walz, a major fraud kingpin in the state’s largest-ever Medicaid scam has skipped the country, just days before his high-profile trial was set to begin.
Abdirashid Said, the top defendant in a sprawling $11 million personal care assistant (PCA) fraud scheme, is now a fugitive after skipping a scheduled pretrial hearing in Hennepin County.
The trial, expected to last weeks and expose a massive web of fraud targeting taxpayer-funded Medicaid programs, has now been abruptly canceled.
According to reporting from KARE 11’s Lou Raguse, Said had been facing serious charges including racketeering, aiding and abetting theft by swindle, and perjury.
Prosecutors alleged he played a central role in a coordinated scheme involving PCA companies that billed Medicaid for services that were never performed, effectively siphoning millions from taxpayers.
Said had already been convicted of fraud in a previous scheme and was ordered by a judge NOT to work for any company receiving Medicaid funds, KARE 11 reported.
Yet he allegedly continued the grift, complete with perjury on the witness stand, where he claimed massive checks were just “loans and gifts” to pay off prior restitution.
When he was initially charged, prosecutors pushed hard for a sky-high bail or the surrender of his passport. But the judge set an unconditional $150,000 bond and let him walk free with his travel documents intact. Thanks to Tim Walz’s “progressive” courts, $150K was apparently all it took for an $11 million fraud suspect to vanish into thin air.
Court records show that Said failed to appear for his court appearance, canceling a jury trial that was set to begin next week.
Said avoided being ordered to surrender his passport by paying the unconditional bond amount of $150,000. The conditional bond, which would have required him to surrender his passport, was set at $50,000.
The criminal complaint shows investigators raised concerns over his family ties outside the country, including a wife and child in Nairobi, Kenya.
The detective who filed the complaint wrote, “Given the nature and severity of the charges, and SAID’s familial ties outside the jurisdiction of Minnesota, I believe there is a potential SAID may flee, hide, or otherwise prevent the execution of the warrant.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison shared the following statement:
“A warrant has been issued for Mr. Said’s arrest after he failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing. My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working with federal law enforcement to locate Said and ensure he faces justice for the fraud he committed. This is a deeply frustrating setback, however I remain committed to doing everything I can to hold Said and other Medicaid fraudsters accountable.”
The post FRAUD FUGITIVE ON THE RUN: $11M Medicaid Scam Suspect Flees U.S. Before Trial After Posting Bond — Critics BLAST Tim Walz’s “Soft-on-Crime” System for Letting Him Keep Passport appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
