ST. PAUL, Minn. — Fighting fraud in state programs will likely take center stage at the state capitol next year, after federal investigators accused two autism centers of swindling state Medicaid money and raided their offices on Thursday.
Soon after the FBI executed those search warrants, DFL Gov. Tim Walz told the Minnesota told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an interview that there should be boosted penalties for those crimes. He promised a “pretty significant package” of fraud prevention measures.
A spokesperson for his office said he’ll unveil details of the plan before the legislative session begins January 14.
The federal investigation into the autism centers stemmed from the probe into the $240 million Feeding Our Future scandal, a scheme to defraud a federal nutrition program, according to a federal search warrant. At least a dozen of the defendants charged for their role in that case “received money from, or were associated with autism clinics and other health care companies that received state funds” for providing services to support children with autism , the warrant said.