The business of billing
On its website, WellHub Inc. advertised “specialized medical recovery services for individuals experiencing homelessness,” touting that it had served more than 1,200 patients.
The location of the business listed on the now-defunct website: 123 Recovery Street in Minneapolis, an address that doesn’t exist.
The phone number led to a dead end as well.
Medicaid billing records show WellHub Inc. received nearly $14,000 in reimbursements from the recuperative care program, a brand-new service launched in early 2025 by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).
When 5 INVESTIGATES took a closer look at WellHub Inc., a complex, complicated web of individuals and businesses emerged.
Records from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office show three people started the company: Mohamud Said, Abdirahman Aideed and Bashir Omar.
Those individuals are among dozens of people who own or operate multiple businesses that have billed Minnesota’s Medicaid program since 2018, according to our review of state and federal records.
Analyzing a sample of more than 600 business records from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, 5 INVESTIGATES found 72 individuals, or more than 10%, associated with multiple health care companies.
Medicaid billing data, provided by DHS through a public records request, revealed that those companies collectively received more than $183 million in reimbursements from 2018 through 2025.
That figure is likely an undercount, as DHS only provided data for 11 of the 14 programs designated as high risk for program integrity issues and fraud at the time of reporting.
The companies
Each of the individuals connected to WellHub Inc. is also a high-ranking corporate officer in other local health care companies:
- Omar is listed as the CEO of Kettle Health Inc. The health care company received more than $1.5 million in Medicaid reimbursements since 2021, billing in four services designated as high risk for program integrity issues and fraud, according to DHS data.
- Said, who is listed in federal health care records as the president of WellHub Inc., is the owner of Home & Community Care Services, a Housing Stabilization Services provider and owner of Uplift Center LLC, a provider who billed the state’s autism program.
- Aideed is named as the CEO of Nova Recovery Center Inc., a substance abuse rehabilitation facility.
(Source: NPPES NPI Registry)
None of the men are accused of any wrongdoing.
Late last week, an attorney representing Said and Aideed contacted 5 INVESTIGATES. On Monday, both declined an on-camera interview.
In a statement, the men said that their businesses — Home & Community Care Services, Uplift Center LLC and Nova Recovery Center Inc — are active providers. The statement said WellHub Inc ceased operations in October 2025.
Nova Recovery Center Inc (owned by Aideed) and Uplift Center (owned by Said) are currently undergoing DHS’s revalidation process, as well as EIDBI licensing for the latter company. Home & Community Care Services (owned by Said) is currently not providing services.
None of the businesses, according to Said and Aideed, have been investigated by DHS or law enforcement for allegations of fraud and have not been the subject of any payment withholding from the state.
“My clients are stand-up individuals, and their investment and ownership in more than one business is a testament to their work ethic, not any fraud,” said attorney Patrick Boyle in an email.
Omar has not responded to multiple calls and emails from 5 INVESTIGATES.
A “significant red flag”
It is not illegal to own multiple health care companies.
However, the story of WellHub Inc., its multiple owners and their multiple businesses is an example of a growing trend first identified by federal prosecutors during an investigation into fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs.
Former Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson – who led the prosecution of the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case – said his office found defendants getting money from multiple government benefit programs.
“You’ll see they have multiple health care entities, almost each of which seems to have been created to bill a specific Medicaid program,” he said back in December at a news conference. “That’s a significant red flag.”
At the time, Thompson said his review of claims from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the 14 programs identified by the state as being vulnerable to fraud found that providers billed $18 billion since 2018.
Thompson said while not all the payments were illegitimate, he estimated “half or more” – $9 billion – was received through fraudulent means.
The news conference was held to announce a new round of indictments related to suspected fraudulent billing in Minnesota’s safety-net programs.
The two men dubbed the “fraud tourists” were among that list.
Lester Brown and Anthony Jefferson – they’ve since pleaded guilty to wire fraud – traveled to Minnesota from Philadelphia, started two businesses and began billing the Housing Stabilization Services program. The reimbursements totaled nearly $3.5 million.
Brown’s business connections appeared in the data analyzed by 5 INVESTIGATES.
The state’s role
The DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) is responsible for investigating health and safety concerns involving Medicaid recipients, as well as ensuring that taxpayer money is going to legitimate organizations that serve vulnerable adults across the state.
DHS declined a request for an on-camera interview with Inspector General James Clark to discuss how the department keeps track of individuals who own and operate multiple businesses that bill Medicaid.
In an emailed statement, Clark said, “DHS is dedicated to fighting Medicaid fraud and doing everything we can to ensure that vital social services are delivered to the Minnesotans who rely on them.”
Additionally, the department said the questions 5 INVESTIGATES wanted to ask Clark “… require input from several different areas of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, each with their own areas of expertise.”
During a recent call with members of the media, DHS Deputy Commissioner John Connolly said multiple departments – including compliance and OIG – gather and maintain records on who is associated with a particular provider.
However, he acknowledged there is no centralized system in which a DHS employee or investigator could look up an individual and see any connections to different businesses.
“We have staff that share information internally, and I think systems integration is part of the goal of what the governor has rolled out in terms of modernization of our Information Systems platforms,” Connolly said.
In February, Governor Tim Walz unveiled a legislative package aimed at fighting fraud in the state.
At a news conference that same day, DHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi laid out her agency’s goal for addressing fraud in Medicaid services.
“We have a consensus around an outcome,” Gandhi said. “Zero fraud in our programs.”
