Minnesota fraud suspect fails to show in court throwing $11 million Medicaid case into doubt

By BETHAN SEXTON, US ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Published: 07:12, 12 April 2026 | Updated: 07:27, 12 April 2026 The main suspect in an $11 million Medicaid fraud case in Minnesota has disappeared after failing to show up to court. Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, is accused of conspiring with two others to pull off the huge scam between 2019 and 2023. He was due to appear in a Hennepin County court for a pretrial hearing for ten felony counts on Tuesday. After he failed to appear, a judge ordered him to forfeit his $150,000 bond and issued a warrant for his arrest. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison described Said's disappearance as, 'a deeply frustrating setback.'  'My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working with federal law enforcement to locate Said and ensure he faces justice for the fraud he committed,' he told Fox9.  'This is a deeply frustrating setback, however, I remain committed to doing everything I can to hold Said and other Medicaid fraudsters accountable.' Said has been charged with racketeering and several counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle. Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, did not appear in a Hennepin County court for a pretrial hearing for ten felony counts related to his alleged Medicaid fraud on Tuesday Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison described Ismail's failure to appear in court as frustrating and added that his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working with federal law enforcement to locate him A judge ordered Ismail to forfeit his $150,000 bond and issued a warrant for his arrest He has a previous Medicaid conviction from 2022 which saw him ordered to pay back $77,000 and barred from operating health agencies which use the welfare scheme. Despite this, prosecutors allege that he defrauded the Medicaid program by billing for services which were not provided or were supported by false paperwork through multiple health agencies. Prosecutors fear that the suspect may have fled overseas as his wife lives in Nairobi, Kenya according to court documents seen by CBS.  Said has been present for previous hearings, most recently on March 17, KSTP reports. However, his disappearance throws the case, thought to be Minnesota's 'largest-ever Medicaid fraud prosecution' into chaos. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Attorney General's office for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.