Man who ran fraudulent Minnesota autism center purchased semi truck with the kickbacks

A man accused of running a fraudulent autism center in Minnesota also purchased a semi truck with the money received from state services, prosecutors say. 

Abdinajib Yussuf pleaded guilty on Monday, March 2nd to one count of wire fraud. 

According to CBS, Yussuf opened Star Autism Center in St. Cloud Minnesota in 2020, claiming to provide one on one therapy to children with autism. A federal indictment states that Yussuf recruited parents to enroll their children into his center, even if they were not actually diagnosed with autism. If the parents agreed, Yussuf would work with a professional to qualify the child for his autism services, regardless of their actual diagnosis. 

Yussuf would then share some of the Medicaid kickbacks with the parents. He also sent as much as $200,000 back home to Kenya, and even purchased a $100,000 Freightliner semi truck with the reimbursement funds from the Minnesota Department of Services and UCare.

Court documents say Yussuf submitted millions of dollars worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement. He collected more than $6 million in reimbursement funds from the Minnesota Department of Services and UCare.

Yussuf reportedly submitted millions of dollars worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement and collected more than $6 million. Star Autism Center was raided by the FBI in 2024.