Minnesota ‘outstanding refugee’ arrested for Medicaid fraud

by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News August 18, 2026

A Minnesota immigrant from Somalia who was once selected by the state to receive an “outstanding refugee” award has been charged with Medicaid fraud.

Salman Ahmed Elmi

Salman Ahmed Elmi is facing three counts of aiding and abetting by swindle and five counts of aiding and abetting by false representation as part of an alleged scam to bill Medicaid for over $1 million in fraudulent services, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.

The charges also allege that two individuals involved in the fraud scheme were tied to a sex-trafficking ring involving brothels.

In 2021, the Minnesota Department of Human Services honored Elmi with the title “outstanding refugee” along with an Entrepreneurship Award.

“The same agency that awarded Elmi is the SAME agency that gives out Medicaid payments,” conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted on X. “You can’t make this up.”

Fox 9 Minneapolis also reported that Elmi was part of a startup that received financial backing from Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary.

“I started a business to help inspire other people,” Elmi said in a post on the Minnesota Department of Human Services website that has since been removed. “No one owns businesses in my family; my entire family came here with the idea that the American dream was just getting a job and making it work, so shifting that mindset was difficult but important. Navigating those treacherous waters allowed me to provide for my family and work on my terms.”

ACT for America Founder Brigitte Gabriel posted on X: “Fraud is so rampant in this demographic that it’s rewarded instead of punished,. When the system celebrates the looters, you have a culture problem.”

Freedom Rocks! Until It Is Gone

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