Eden Prairie man sentenced to over 4 years for defrauding Medica

Star Tribune

Last update: June 19, 2009 - 10:45 PM

A 52-year-old Eden Prairie man was sentenced to prison for plotting with his wife and another person to commit health-care fraud involving more than $1.75 million.

Mohamed Essa was sentenced Thursday in Minneapolis federal court to four years and eight months in prison and ordered to join his conspirators in repaying the money to Medica, which runs the Medicaid public health care benefit program in Minnesota.

According to his plea agreement, Essa admitted that from 2001 through 2004 he conspired with his wife, Indadeeq Omar, 46, and Tou Chaiker Vang, 40, of Maplewood, to defraud Medica by submitting claims for translation services that had not been given to Medica members. He also admitted that the three prepared and submitted false claims to Medica.

Vang was employed by Medica in the State Public Programs customer service department.

Essa and Omar owned and operated Global Interpreter Corp., which contracted with Medica to provide translation services to members being treated by health care providers.

Property records show that Essa and Omar bought their Eden Prairie home in 2004 for nearly $600,000, in the final year of the scheme.

Essa was indicted in March 2007 while out of the country. He failed to return to face the charges and was apprehended on April 10, 2008, in South Africa. The next day, Vang was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. In July 2008, Omar was sentenced to six years in prison.

PAUL WALSH

Recent Local + Metro stories

What would Grandpa want? Open spaces - June 19, 2009

What would Grandpa want? Open spaces - Andover's first purchase under a program to preserve open land is 38 acres full of wildlife, woods and memories. More