Eden Prairie Man Is Returned To U.S. To Stand Trial

Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota, April 18, 2008 – An Eden Prairie man who was indicted for health care fraud and money laundering last fall was apprehended last week in South Africa and deported back to the United States.

Mohammed Essa, 51, made his initial court appearance this week in Alexandria, Va., and will be returned to Minnesota for a trial.

Essa's wife, Indadeeq Omar, was convicted in December for participating in a scheme that bilked more than $1.5 million in medical assistance payments between 2001 and 2004. Omar is a prominent member of the Twin Cities Somali community and a niece of a former Somali president.

A co-conspirator in the case and a former Medica employee, Tou Chaiker Vang of Maplewood, was sentenced last week to a year and a day in prison for his role in the scheme.

A grand jury indicted Essa on one count of health care fraud conspiracy, 12 counts of health care fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, 19 counts of concealment money laundering and seven counts of promotion money laundering.

The indictment alleges that Essa and his wife owned and operated Global Interpreter Corp., which contracted with Medica to provide translation services for patients. They allegedly received member information and dates of medical visits from Vang, allowing the couple to file "tens of thousands" of bogus claims to Medica, which processed the Medicaid payments for the government.

Source: Star Tribune

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