by WorldTribune Staff, November 27, 2025 Real World News

A Somali national who was convicted of ripping off Minnesota taxpayers to the tune of $7.2 million via Medicaid fraud has been let off the hook by a liberal judge.

Hennepin County Judge Sarah West tossed out the jury’s guilty verdict on fraud and racketeering charges against Abdifatah Yusuf, KARE 11 reported.

The jury heard evidence that Yusuf ran his home healthcare company, Promise Health, out of a mailbox where multiple other home healthcare companies were supposedly located.

Yusuf and his wife Lul Ahmed were charged with stealing $7.2 million of taxpayer money through Medicaid overbilling in a personal care assistant (PCA) scam.

Yusuf allegedly billed Minnesota’s Medicaid program for services he never performed, overbilled for other services, provided false documentation to back up the bills and provided kickbacks to “recipients” of the phony services.

The couple allegedly spent tens of thousands of the fraud money on luxury items for themselves.

“While the Court is troubled by the manner in which fraud was able to be perpetuated at Promise, the State’s evidence did not exclude other reasonable, rational inferences that are inconsistent with Mr. Yusuf’s guilt,” West wrote in her decision to acquit.

Conservative social media activist Robby Starbuck wrote on X: “Judge Sarah West didn’t just overturn a jury who convicted Abdifatah Yusuf of stealing millions from taxpayers, she didn’t even really explain why except that he could’ve not been guilty. Judges like this are destroying trust in our system. We need MAJOR change to restore trust.”

Stunned jurors told Minneapolis-area TV station KARE11 that they didn’t have much difficulty during deliberations.

“It was not a difficult decision whatsoever. The deliberation took probably four hours at most. Based off of the state’s evidence that was presented, it was beyond a reasonable doubt,” jury foreperson Ben Walfoort told KARE 11 News.

“We didn’t take our job lightly,” another juror told KARE 11. “We went through a lot of evidence and discussed a lot, took our time, but we all came to an agreement pretty easily.”

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office filed an appeal on Monday. Prosecutors are rarely able to appeal an acquittal, but they can in this case since the judgment overturns the will of the jury.

Yusuf’s attorney Ian Birrell said in a statement to KARE 11: “Judge West’s ruling affirms what we have maintained from the beginning: our client Mr. Yusuf was wrongfully accused and did not commit fraud or racketeering. The Court’s decision to enter judgments of acquittal on all charges reflects the fundamental principle that justice requires both fairness and proof. We appreciate the Court’s careful attention to the evidence and the law.”

Welfare fraud schemes in Minnesota have reportedly been used to fund al-Shabaab, an Al Qaida affiliate based in Somalia. President Donald Trump announced he would end “Temporary Protected Status” for Somalis in Minneapolis in response to the allegations.

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  Liberal judge tosses jury’s verdict against Somali in $7.2 million Medicaid fraud case, WorldTribune.com