Ohio has its own Somali fraud problem, House oversight says
Ohio, home to the country’s second-largest Somali population, has a multibillion-dollar Somali fraud crisis similar to the scandal in Minnesota, members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform warned this week.
TL;DR
- Ohio faces a multibillion-dollar fraud crisis involving Somali and Bhutanese immigrants in its home health Medicaid program.
- Sham companies, primarily operated by immigrants, are allegedly billing Medicaid for services not provided.
- An estimated $1.2 billion has been stolen from the federal government through these schemes in Ohio.
- Investigators suggest a connection between fraud rings in Ohio and Minnesota, with individuals moving between the states.
- Millions of dollars in cash have reportedly been transported from Columbus, Ohio, to Minneapolis, and then sent to Somalia.
- Republican lawmakers attributed the proliferation of fraud to lax immigration policies and insufficient vetting.
- Democratic lawmakers criticized the rhetoric, calling it hateful and a generalization, while emphasizing that individuals, not entire groups, commit crimes.