Somali woman charged in multi-million dollar autism fraud scheme in Minnesota

A 28-year-old woman has been charged in Minneapolis for her role in a $14 million autism fraud scheme that exploited taxpayer money meant to help children.

Asha Farhan Hassan, who ran Smart Therapy LLC, was indicted on charges of wire fraud. Prosecutors allege she fraudulently billed Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program (EIDBI), which provides support for children with autism under the age of 21. Instead of delivering services, Hassan allegedly pocketed the funds.

Charging documents state that Hassan hired unqualified individuals, including teenage relatives with no formal education beyond high school, and paid parents kickbacks of more than $1,000 per child to keep them enrolled. Parents reportedly pressured Smart Therapy for higher payouts, threatening to leave for other centers if demands weren’t met. 

Prosecutors also allege Hassan recruited children, particularly from the Somali community, even if they did not have autism, then billed Medicaid for millions in reimbursement.

US Acting Attorney Joe Thompson announced charges last week against eight people accused of defrauding a Minnesota Housing program. He explained that the investigation found individuals were exploiting multiple systems at once. 

Hassan has also been charged in Minnesota’s largest COVID-era fraud case, the Feeding Our Future scandal, where she received $465,000.

“Today’s charges mark the first in the ongoing investigation into fraud in the EIDBI Autism Program,” Thompson said in a press release. “To be clear, this is not an isolated scheme.  From Feeding Our Future to Housing Stabilization Services and now Autism Services, these massive fraud schemes form a web that has stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer money.  Each case we bring exposes another strand of this network. The challenge is immense, but our work continues.”