| Will he also have to give the money back? Because that is a significant amount… |
Said testified at a hearing in 2023 that cultural misunderstanding was a factor in the fraud cases, arguing at the time that investigators did not understand that people within the Minneapolis Somali community often transfer funds to each other in ways that don't produce paper trails, local media reported at the time.
Said failed to show up for a mandated court appearance in early April after Hennepin County District Court Judge Juan Hoyos granted him a bond set at $150,000. The terms of the bond allowed Said to retain possession of his passport, even as the Medicare Fraud Control Unit, which is within the attorney general's office, warned the judge that he may be a flight risk.
"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," a police detective wrote in the criminal complaint against Said. The complaint noted that Said has a wife and child in Kenya, where he is believed to have fled.
Ibrahim’s role in Said’s operation included defrauding Minnesota taxpayers of $2.2 million using false claims and paying himself over half a million dollars through the scheme. As part of his plea deal, Ibrahim has acknowledged that he stole from the state and agreed to return the $2.2 million through a payment plan that will be determined at his sentencing hearing.
His jail sentence will be stayed if he complies with probation and a payment plan.
Prosecutors claim Ibrahim over-reported how much time staff at his care center spent caring for patients in order to receive more money from the state than he was entitled to. As part of Ibrahim’s plea deal, authorities dismissed a racketeering charge and two additional theft charges against him.
Said had previously been convicted of fraud in Minnesota in 2021, receiving probation and community service instead of a jail sentence.
