This is why we need DOGE everywhere.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — On the heels of Minnesota’s massive $1 billion social services fraud scandal, a whistleblower has revealed a similar long-running scheme in Ohio’s Somali community, allegedly siphoning millions in taxpayer dollars through falsified Medicaid home health care claims.
Attorney and conservative commentator Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital that the Ohio operation involves doctors rubber-stamping bogus diagnoses and families billing for care that isn’t provided. “Minnesota was just the tip of the spear,” Cooke said. “What we’re seeing in Minneapolis is just a snippet of what’s happening in Ohio.”
Source: Fox News – Whistleblower warns of long-running Medicaid fraud ring inside Ohio’s Somali community
A System Ripe for Exploitation
Ohio’s Medicaid home health care program allows family members to be paid up to $91,000 annually to care for elderly or disabled relatives. Whistleblowers say participants are coached to feign symptoms, with approving doctors receiving kickbacks. “99% of the time, individuals receiving the home healthcare Medicaid benefit have been coached and do not actually qualify,” Cooke claimed. Social media posts of “bedridden” patients dancing at events often expose the fraud. Cooke stressed the issue involves “criminals within the Somali community,” not the community as a whole, which contributes positively through businesses and cultural institutions in areas like Columbus’s Cleveland Avenue.
Echoes of Minnesota’s Billion-Dollar Scandal
In Minnesota, federal prosecutors have charged dozens in schemes totaling nearly $1 billion, including the Feeding Our Future child nutrition fraud ($250-300 million) and separate autism therapy and housing programs. Many defendants are from the state’s large Somali diaspora.
Source: Fox News – Schemes stacked upon schemes: $1B human services fraud fuels scrutiny of Minnesota’s Somali community
Source: Fox News – Schemes stacked upon schemes: $1B human services fraud fuels scrutiny of Minnesota’s Somali community
Source: The New York Times – How Fraud Swamped Minnesota’s Social Services System
President Trump has called Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and terminated Temporary Protected Status for Somalis. Some reports allege funds were sent overseas via hawala networks, potentially reaching al-Shabaab militants.
Source: Reuters – Trump says he is ending temporary deportation protections for Somalis
Source: Reuters – Trump says he is ending temporary deportation protections for Somalis
Emerging Patterns in Other States
Similar allegations have surfaced in Maine, where whistleblowers accuse Gateway Community Services—led by Somali-American Abdullahi Ali—of fraudulent MaineCare billing while Ali ran for office in Somalia and admitted funding militias.
Source: The Maine Wire – Somali-American Refugee’s Medicaid Firm Submitted Fraudulent MaineCare Claims
Source: The Maine Wire – Somali-American Refugee’s Medicaid Firm Submitted Fraudulent MaineCare Claims
House Oversight Chairman James Comer has called it a “very organized scheme in multiple states with groups of Somalis.”
Calls for Reform
Cooke advocates for video verifications, AI detection, and in-person audits in Ohio, where high approval rates and understaffing enable abuse. Community leaders condemn the fraud and call for education and accountability.
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