Spending in Minnesota's autism programs ballooned from $6 million in 2018 to $343 million in 2024. Much of that was fraudulent spending, with reports of fake autism diagnoses, phony autism centers, and several Somali fraudsters arrested and charged. This includes Abdinajim Yussuf, who was charged in a $6 million scheme after he was found billing impossible hours and offering kickbacks to families who signed their children up at the center.

A former therapist is also speaking out against the fraud in autism treatment, and he implicated someone with close ties to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is also running for the U.S. Senate this fall.

Grant Morgan, an autism therapist, told Liz Collin that he worked in the state's Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program. 

Morgan worked for Milestone Development Center, owned by Nimco Ahmed, and Spectrum Therapy Center. Morgan said both were "fraudulent autism centers."

"Some of that increase is legitimate," Morgan said of the increased numbers of autistic children. "Back in 2017, 2018, 2019 that had autism that would have qualified for services that were not receiving services at that time." 

Recommended
The Last Stand of Rove, Cornyn, and the Establishment Frauds Kurt Schlichter Unhinged Female Jurors Are Mad That the Lindsay Clancy Holdout Focused on the Facts Matt Vespa

"I do believe a large portion of that is legitimate, but I do believe a lot of that is fraudulent, too," he continued. "But I would not be surprised if half of that is fraudulent. At both Milestone and Spectrum, I noticed a lack of oversight and a low quality of services. At Milestone, for example, I did not see a QSP (Qualified Supervising Professional) or a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) at all when I worked there and it’s critical that you have a professional overseeing these services."

Here's more on Nimco Ahmed and Flanagan:

Nimco Ahmed — a longtime DFL activist in Minnesota, a former DFL state director, and president of the Somali American Coalition — is listed as the CEO of Milestone Development Center, which is based in Minneapolis.

Morgan worked there for just two months from October to December of 2023. But that was long enough for him to see for himself that “they did not include comprehensive autism solutions,” as he said in his own words.

...

Collin asked Morgan about seeing Ahmed standing beside Lt. Gov. Flanagan — who is running to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate — in a viral video. Morgan said, “I was shocked to see that video because I knew Nimco.”

“She did not seem like someone that someone on the political stage should associate with. She seemed like a bad person,” he added.

“She did not seem like she cared about the quality of the autism center that she owned. She did not seem like she knew anything about applied behavior analysis as an autism intervention. And she didn’t seem to even have an interest in the field,” Morgan said.

“I think it’s very likely that Peggy was intentionally trying to help out bad actors. And I’ll even say I think there’s a chance that she was directly involved in the fraud herself. I think that is very possible,” Morgan remarked.

Last week, Republican Michele Tafoya hammered Peggy Flanagan over the state's welfare fraud. "She was Lt. Gov. during the biggest fraud catastrophe in Minnesota history," Tafoya said. "And she wants you to pretend it didn't happen."

"But it did. Under her watch. She can't hide from that. And Minnesotans don't want a senator who hides from fraud. Or worse, lets it happen," Tafoya continued.

And now we have a good friend of Flanagan being investigated for fraud.