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I am gobsmacked after reading two Dec. 13 stories, one detailing the alleged Medicaid fraud scandal in autism treatment centers (“FBI raids two state autism centers,” front page), the other on Gov. Tim Walz’s comments on the issue (“Walz calls for tougher Medicaid fraud penalties as costs rise”). The first article states the Minnesota Department of Human Services began investigating Star Autism in 2022, and goes on to say the DHS referred the case to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. In the second article, Walz blames state laws as being insufficient to cut off payments before a conviction.
But the state of Minnesota never charged anyone in the autism treatment case, or in the Feeding Our Future student meal fraud cases. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged 47 defendants in the latter case; the autism case only came to light through the connections to Feeding Our Future unearthed by the FBI. Kudos to U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, but why have no state charges been brought in the two-plus years since DHS began investigating and referred the case to the attorney general? What did Keith Ellison’s office do with these referrals? And why didn’t the attorney general investigate and charge fraud in the Feeding Our Future cases; why was it left to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office? Last I checked, fraud is illegal in all 50 states, as well as federally. It seems clear the state is not using all the tools at its disposal to deal with this type of criminal activity. Hundreds of millions of state and U.S. taxpayer dollars being siphoned off by crooks doesn’t get our attention? Again, as a longtime DFL supporter embarrassed by the national spotlight these scandals shine on Minnesota, I ask: Why?
Daniel Nassif, Minneapolis
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Let me make sure I have this right: the DHS is once again facing a financial fraud fiasco, this time autism service providers. This is in addition to lax collection of money owed to the state from medical providers (“Medical bill collection lax at DHS, audit says,” Dec. 11). Where does it end?
Jon Wiersma, St. Paul