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2d ago

Judge Sarah West Faces Backlash After Overturning $7 Million Medicaid Fraud Conviction

The attorney general has appealed the acquittal in a case tied to a broader Minnesota fraud investigation.

The Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on December 22, 2021. A 2018 headshot of West from the website of the Minnesota State Legislature.
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Hennepin County Judge Sarah West overturned Abdifatah Yusuf’s Medicaid fraud conviction last month. In her order, West said the original conviction had relied “substantially on circumstantial evidence.” She wrote that the scale of the fraud was "of great concern" but the state failed to prove Yusuf knowingly participated in it. (MINNESOTA COURTS VIA FACEBOOK)

Overview

  • West granted a judgment of acquittal in November for Abdifatah Yusuf, ruling the jury’s verdict relied substantially on circumstantial evidence and did not prove he knowingly participated.
  • Prosecutors had alleged Yusuf and his wife diverted more than $7 million through their home-based healthcare business, including transfers to his personal account and large cash withdrawals.
  • Jurors voiced surprise at the reversal, with the foreperson saying they believed the trial evidence supported guilt.
  • Attorney General Keith Ellison has taken the case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, keeping the legal fight active.
  • The case is drawing national attention as officials describe a wider Minnesota fraud probe estimated in the billions, prompting online calls for West’s removal, a push to unseal records, and statements from federal authorities about increased investigative resources.