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OAN Staff Cory Hawkins and Brooke Mallory
6:11 PM – Wednesday, December 3, 2025
A Hennepin County judge appointed by Democrat Governor Tim Walz has overturned a jury’s guilty verdict against a Somali man convicted of orchestrating a $7.2 million Medicaid fraud scheme, prompting outrage from jurors, Republican lawmakers, and even some Democrats.
Abdifatah Yusuf, 44, the man at the center of the Medicaid fraud case, is a Somali immigrant who arrived in Minnesota in the early 2000s. His wife, Lul Ahmed, 41, who was also apart of the scheme, shares a similar background.
On November 14th, District Judge Sarah West issued a 55-page order acquitting Yusuf on all six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, despite a jury finding him guilty in August last year after deliberating for less than two hours.
Yusuf and his wife were accused of using their company, Promise Health Services, LLC, to submit fraudulent claims for personal care assistant services that were never provided or were billed at inflated rates. Prosecutors say the couple pocketed millions, including more than $1 million transferred directly to Yusuf’s personal account and $387,000 withdrawn in cash.
Yusuf also allegedly used the money to fund his “lavish lifestyle,” spending thousands at designer stores such as Coach, Nike, Canada Goose, Michael Kors, among others.
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While both husband and wife were charged in the $7.2 million scheme, only Yusuf went to trial on the theft counts. His wife’s case was handled separately and was not part of the jury verdict Judge West overturned.
In her ruling, Judge West claimed that the state’s case relied “too heavily on circumstantial evidence” and failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Yusuf personally participated in the fraud, calling the evidence “troubling” but insufficient for conviction.
It is also worth noting that judges typically never override a jury’s guilty verdict in a criminal case.
Yusuf was released immediately following the ruling — pending the state’s appeal.
Jurors who spoke to KARE 11 expressed disbelief. One said the panel found the evidence “overwhelming” and felt the ruling undermined months of work.
Soon after, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat whose office prosecuted the case, immediately appealed the acquittal, calling the lefty judge’s order “highly unusual.”
“Stealing money meant for poor people’s healthcare and using it to buy luxury cars and designer clothes is as shameful and disgraceful as it gets. Minnesotans believe in helping our neighbors, but we have no patience for fraudsters like Abdifatah Yusuf who abuse that generosity to enrich themselves,” Ellison commented after Yusuf was convicted in August.
Republican lawmakers were far harsher. State Sen. Mark Holmstrom labeled Judge West “a true extremist,” while Rep. Kristin Robbins said she was stunned and is exploring legislation to make it harder for judges to overturn fraud convictions.
The case is part of a broader wave of Medicaid and pandemic-aid fraud prosecutions in Minnesota, including the $250 million Feeding Our Future scandal — the largest COVID-relief fraud case in the country.
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