Minnesota’s $1 Billion Fraud Scandal: Fake Offices and Shell Companies Hidden in Plain Sight

In a sweeping investigation of Minnesota’s billion-dollar fraud scandal, Fox News Digital has uncovered a pattern of phantom businesses, nonexistent addresses, and abandoned buildings that illustrates the brazen nature of the state’s largest-ever public funds heist.

The investigation centered around the now-infamous Griggs-Midway Building in St. Paul, which Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson described as housing an “unusual concentration” of fraudulent entities. Twenty-two fictitious businesses registered to this single location collectively billed Medicaid for approximately $8 million between January 2024 and May 2025 through the Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program.

On-site reporting revealed large sections of the building’s southern side completely abandoned, with a banner advertising available space. While the western portion housed some legitimate businesses, including a hair salon and financial services for African immigrants, the contrast highlighted how fraudsters blended into legitimate commercial settings.

Following extensive FBI searches, the Minnesota Department of Human Services launched approximately 40 investigations into providers associated with the building. One company, Brilliant Minds Services, allegedly submitted over $2.3 million in fraudulent claims, ranking among the state’s highest-billing HSS providers last year.

Four defendants—Moktar Hassan Aden, 30; Mustafa Dayib Ali, 29; Khalid Ahmed Dayib, 26; and Abdifitah Mohamud Mohamed, 27—have been charged in connection with the fraud case. Mohamed reportedly owned one of the implicated businesses, Foundation First Services LLC.

The fraud scheme extended well beyond the Griggs-Midway Building. At multiple locations visited by Fox News Digital, the investigation uncovered a pattern of deception that included:

A second-story walkup above a sushi restaurant near the Mississippi River, where the entryway was locked and showed little sign of occupancy.

The “Winsor Plaza” building in Roseville, where Suite 150—listed on a fraudulent claim—simply did not exist in the building’s current configuration.

A dental office at 9120 Baltimore St N, where claims listed a nonexistent “Suite 100” as the operating location for a fraudulent entity.

A commercial address at 2756 Douglas Dr N housing legitimate businesses, but the alleged fraud entity appeared never to have operated there.

A small, rusted garage behind a church at 1541 Como Ave, which local sources said had briefly housed a “pop-up gym” run by someone driving “a fancy car.”

An address at 4601 E 54th St that proved entirely fictional, as the street has no “400s” block.

A completely boarded-up, graffiti-covered building at 2720 E Lake St with a homeless person sleeping outside, appearing long abandoned.

Minnesota Republican state Senator Mark Koran told Fox News Digital that the fraud was hiding in plain sight, with simple verification measures neglected by authorities.

“Most of that $500 million hasn’t served a single meal,” Koran said, referring to the Feeding Our Future program that was central to earlier fraud investigations. “All they would have to do is show up and look at it.”

Koran highlighted a legislative auditor’s report showing that 30 property owners had contacted the Department of Education, which managed the program, to report that businesses claiming to operate in their facilities didn’t exist. Astonishingly, the department forwarded these complaints to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future itself to address.

“The Department of Education continued to pay millions to those thirty with a blatant, simple process of ‘we’ve been notified they don’t exist,’ and they rejected and ignored it,” Koran said.

The scandal represents one of the largest fraud cases in Minnesota history, with state and federal taxpayers losing at least $1 billion. As investigations continue, the full scope of the fraud—and the systemic failures that enabled it—continues to emerge, raising serious questions about oversight and accountability in the state’s public assistance programs.