How many total Medicaid fraud prosecutions occurred in Minnesota from 2015 to 2025 and how were they classified?
Executive summary
Available sources do not provide a single, statewide tally of every Minnesota Medicaid fraud prosecution from 2015–2025; reporting instead documents multiple high‑profile criminal charges, guilty verdicts, pleas and civil settlements tied to Medicaid fraud between 2019 and 2025, including prosecutions that involve roughly tens of defendants in several large schemes (examples: an alleged $10–$11 million fraud charged in 2023, an Evergreen Recovery indictment in 2024, an 8‑person federal housing‑stabilization indictment in 2025, and multiple 2025 prosecutions alleging $7.2–$7.3 million schemes) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Available sources do not enumerate a total count for 2015–2025 or present a uniform classification scheme for every prosecution in that period (not found in current reporting).
1. What the public record actually lists: a series of separate major prosecutions, not a single tally
State and federal press releases and news outlets chronicle distinct prosecutions and enforcement actions rather than a consolidated count for 2015–2025: Minnesota Attorney General announcements describe the largest‑ever AGO Medicaid fraud prosecution charging three people over nearly $11 million (Dec. 2023) [1]; the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota indicted three people in a 2024 Evergreen Recovery scheme [2]; federal prosecutors announced an eight‑person indictment tied to Housing Stabilization Services in Sept. 2025 [3]; and the AGO and news outlets publicized 2025 charges or guilty verdicts against individuals alleged to have bilked Medicaid of about $7.2–$7.3 million [4] [5] [6]. None of these sources attempts to add up every prosecution back to 2015 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
2. How prosecutions are classified in available sources: criminal indictments, guilty pleas, civil settlements, and administrative actions
The sources show at least four classification types used in reporting: criminal indictments and federal charges (e.g., conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering in Evergreen and HSS cases) [2] [3]; state criminal charges and guilty verdicts prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (e.g., theft by swindle, racketeering, aiding and abetting theft) [4] [5]; guilty pleas to criminal counts such as conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Evergreen Recovery leaders pled guilty) [7]; and civil or settlement resolutions addressing alleged fraud (the $18.5 million NUWAY settlement announced by the AGO) [8]. Administrative actions (pre‑payment audits and payment pauses) and criminal referrals to federal authorities also appear [9] [10].
3. Scale and money figures publicized in these cases — repeated large dollar amounts, but not a comprehensive number of prosecutions
Reporting emphasizes dollar losses and program payments as a measure of scale: the AGO flagged schemes alleging roughly $7.2–$7.3 million in individual prosecutions [4] [5], the AGO described a near‑$11 million prosecution as its largest [1], and federal filings tied payments in the HSS program from $21 million in 2021 to $104 million in 2024 with another $61 million in the first half of 2025 — context used to justify multiple federal indictments [3]. These figures underscore magnitude but do not produce a complete count of prosecutions statewide across the 2015–2025 decade [1] [3] [4].
4. Who is prosecuting and who else is involved — split state and federal enforcement with cooperative investigations
The landscape is mixed: the Minnesota Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) pursues provider fraud and works jointly with federal partners; the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, HHS‑OIG and other federal agencies have led or joined major indictments [2] [3] [7]. Media and government releases repeatedly note interagency cooperation in complex schemes and that some large matters are prosecuted federally because of wire‑fraud and money‑laundering components [2] [3].
5. Limitations of the available reporting and what is missing for a precise 2015–2025 count
None of the supplied sources compiles every prosecution filed or resolved statewide from 2015 through 2025; instead they highlight notable prosecutions, audits, and settlements [1] [8] [3]. The MFCU presentation shows caseload metrics as of 2023 (e.g., 198 open fraud cases) but not a historical, year‑by‑year prosecution tally from 2015–2025 [11]. As a result, a precise numeric total and a unified classification breakdown for the entire decade cannot be produced from these sources (not found in current reporting).
6. Competing perspectives and possible agendas in the reporting
State officials emphasize enforcement success and ask for more resources and statutory tools — for example, the AGO sought a bipartisan MAP Act to expand powers and staff [12]. Federal prosecutors framed HSS indictments as responses to systemic program weaknesses [3]. Industry groups representing disability service providers have pushed back, warning payment pauses and audits can threaten care delivery — an implicit policy tension: aggressive enforcement vs. program continuity [13] [10]. Readers should note that press releases from enforcement agencies naturally underscore prosecution successes and monetary recoveries as part of a public‑safety and policy advocacy goal [1] [8].
If you want, I can attempt a partial count limited to named prosecutions and defendants described in these sources (e.g., list each announced indictment, charge, plea and settlement with dates and citations).