Larger families left after being offered larger kickbacks by other autism centers
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s double life is collapsing and her caterer/donor is going to jail for 30 years for $44 million in fraud.
Salim Ahmed Said was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was found guilty in 2025 for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Said is the former co-owner of the Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis. He and his associates stole over $44 million by claiming to feed up to 6,000 children daily.
Omar had her victory party at the Safari restaurant and took part in a video claiming to be feeding people there.
But in other Somali fraud news, 4 more Somalis have been busted in over $40 million in fraud.
Those busted in the roundup include Feisal Elmi of Aspen Associates, an autism services provider, who now faces 11 counts of healthcare fraud for an alleged $8 million ripoff. Jama Mohamod of American Home Healthcare faces six counts of healthcare fraud totaling $3.27 million; Faiza Ahmed of Home Sweet Home, which billed for elderly and disabled care, faces eight for $10 million in alleged healthcare fraud; and Habiba Mohammed of Smart Therapy faces a count of conspiracy to defraud the US government of $20 million.
Elmi incidentally may be Omar’s real last name.
You may remember Smart Therapy from the previous set of autism therapy indictments. And this was not just 4 people. It ‘took a village’ or a community to perpetrate obscene fraud like this.
Smart Therapy purported to be providing necessary one-on-one ABA therapy to children with autism. In fact, Smart Therapy employed unqualified individuals as “behavioral technicians.” These behavioral technicians were often 18- or 19-year-old relatives with no formal education beyond high school and no training or certifications related to the treatment of autism.
To run their fraud scheme, Hassan and her partners needed children who had an autism diagnosis and an individual treatment plan. Hassan and her partners approached parents in the Somali community to recruit their children into Smart Therapy. Where a child did not have an autism diagnosis and an individual treatment plan, HASSAN and her partners worked with a QSP to get the recruited child qualified for autism services. There was no child that Smart Therapy was not able to get qualified for autism services.
As a recruitment tactic to drive up enrollment, Hassan and her partners paid monthly cash kickback payments to the parents of children who enrolled their children in Smart Therapy to receive autism services. These kickback payments ranged from approximately $300 to $1,500 per month, per child. The amount of these payments was contingent on the services DHS authorized a child to receive—the higher the authorization amount, the higher the kickback. Often, parents threatened to leave Smart Therapy and take their children to other autism centers if they did not get paid higher kickbacks. Several larger families left Smart Therapy after being offered larger kickbacks by other autism centers.
There were so many fake Somali autistic kids and so many fake Somali autism center that there was a competitive market for Somali families with lots of kids.
somehistory says
All of this criminal activity by muzzies could make a book. There is so much of it. Perhaps that “elmi” is another brother of whom she would respond to ‘if”…. “not to my knowledge.”
She’s hiding out in the “somali mall” run by another convicted of fraud.
40 rounds says
As a father of three autistic boys of varying abilities, this infuriates me to no end and to make a mockery of individuals with disabilities for profit is unforgivable
somehistory says
I’m sorry. I have heard some pretty incredible stories of what children with that disability have been able to do.
And yes, it’s rather the same as when they get off after rape and murder with the “mental illness” claims.
These things should carry with the crimes committed an “enhancement” because of the damage they do to people such as your sons.
40 rounds says
Agreed, thanks SH