Woman is first charged in Minnesota autism fraud scheme, also tied to Feeding Our Future

A 28-year-old woman has been charged with wire fraud for her alleged role in a $14 million autism fraud scheme, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Asha Farhan Hassan was also charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, for which she received $465,000.

She sent hundreds of thousands of dollars abroad and even bought real estate in Kenya.

Hassan’s attorney Ryan Pacyga told 5 INVESTIGATES reporter Ryan Raiche that his client is cooperating with the investigation and plans to plead guilty.

Asha Hassan is someone who, in her heart, wanted to start the business for the right reasons,” he said. “But nonetheless, Asha knew at some point that the fraud began, and she let it continue on for a while.”

By April 2021, she falsely claimed to have served 1,200 meals per day, seven days per week, according to prosecutors. In total, she claimed to have served nearly 200,000 meals and received around $465,000.

The DHS Office of Inspector General currently as 84 open cases on autism providers and 24 payment witholds, the department said.
 

Federal authorities also said last week they’ve charged eight people for their roles in what prosecutors describe as a “massive fraud” scheme tied to Minnesota’s federally funded housing stabilization program.

The program, which used federal Medicaid money, was intended to help people with disabilities find and maintain housing. Instead, those charged acquired the names of eligible people from facilities like treatment centers and used that information to submit inflated and false reimbursement claims, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office said.