A Minnesota judge is facing fierce pushback after overturning a massive Medicaid fraud conviction, wiping out a $7.2 million guilty verdict that prosecutors say reflected years of systematic abuse of taxpayer funds.
Abdifatah Yusuf and his wife, Lul Ahmed, were charged in June 2024 for allegedly siphoning more than $7.2 million from Minnesota’s Medicaid program through a home healthcare business that, according to the state, “operated for years out of a mailbox.”
Prosecutors said Yusuf billed for services never provided, used falsified or nonexistent documentation, and overbilled the state while funneling public funds into personal luxuries.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said Yusuf spent the stolen money on high-end shopping sprees at Coach, Michael Kors, Nike, Nordstrom, and more, while transferring over $1 million from business accounts into his personal bank account and withdrawing an additional $387,000 in cash.
A jury convicted Yusuf in August on six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindling over $35,000.
However, Democrat-aligned activist Judge Sarah West threw out the unanimous verdict in mid-November.
West is arguing that prosecutors “relied heavily on circumstantial evidence” and failed to eliminate all “reasonable inferences” pointing to alternate explanations.
The far-left judge was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz’s predecessor, Mark Dayton, in July 2018, according to an archived release by the governor.
West conceded she was “troubled by the manner in which fraud was able to be perpetuated,” yet still vacated the conviction.
The ruling immediately sparked outrage and renewed scrutiny of Minnesota’s justice system amid a series of high-profile fraud scandals.
State Senator: Judge Is a “True Extremist”
Republican State Sen. Michael Holmstrom blasted the decision in an interview with Fox News Digital, calling West’s ruling an ideological outlier that undermines public trust.
“This is just how she operates,” Holmstrom said.
“I think that she is a true extremist, that her ideology is running her courtroom and damaging our justice system.
“People in Minnesota are questioning whether or not the judicial system can be trusted.
“And with judges like this, I see why.”
Holmstrom said one sealed exhibit in Yusuf’s case contained an international money order sent to an undisclosed individual overseas, a detail he says raises serious questions.
He has requested access to the document, but the court has not yet granted it.
“I want to know what happened, and I think Minnesotans honestly deserve to know what their tax money is going to fund and how these remittances are working,” he said.
Holmstrom added he was “outraged” by West’s decision, saying the judge was “outside her authority” to overturn the verdict.
Jury Foreman “Shocked” by Overturned Verdict
Ben Walfoort, the foreperson of the jury that convicted Yusuf, said the ruling defied the evidence presented at trial.
“It was not a difficult decision whatsoever,” Walfoort told KARE.
“The deliberation took probably four hours at most.
“Based off of the state’s evidence that was presented, it was beyond a reasonable doubt. I am shocked.”
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, led by Democrat Keith Ellison, filed an appeal seeking to reinstate the conviction.
Fraud Crisis Deepens in Minnesota
Minnesota remains at the center of numerous large-scale fraud scandals, including the massive Feeding Our Future scheme involving more than $300 million in stolen federal pandemic funds.
A Manhattan Institute report recently alleged millions were funneled to the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab.
Yusuf’s case stems from similar vulnerabilities in Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program, another scheme critics say is ripe for exploitation.
President Donald Trump has condemned the spike in fraud tied to certain immigrant communities, announcing on November 21 that he was ending deportation protections for Somali nationals living in Minnesota.
He said, “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing.”
Defense Claims Innocence
Yusuf’s attorney, Ian Birrell, praised the judge’s decision, insisting his client was wrongfully charged.
“Judge West’s ruling affirms what we have maintained from the beginning: our client Mr. Yusuf was wrongfully accused and did not commit fraud or racketeering,” Birrell said, according to KARE.
“The Court’s decision to enter judgments of acquittal on all charges reflects the fundamental principle that justice requires both fairness and proof.”
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