Federal agents raided multiple Minnesota autism service providers Thursday in the latest law enforcement action involving a state already under intense scrutiny over allegations of widespread fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.
The FBI confirmed that federal and state agencies were conducting “court-authorized investigative activity” at multiple locations across Minnesota, including sites in the Twin Cities and Rochester, according to MPR News. Meanwhile, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office also confirmed that its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit executed search warrants at Iska Inc. in St. Louis Park and Bright Horizon Therapy in Edina, both of which provide autism-related or other Medicaid-funded services.
The operation involved the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, IRS criminal investigators, U.S. Postal Inspectors and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis.
“This is an active investigation, and no further details are available at this time,” FBI Minneapolis spokesperson Matt Vogel told MPR News.
Iska Inc. received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid payments between 2018 and 2025, according to state data reviewed by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The business participated in Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program, which provides services to children and young people with autism and has faced increasing scrutiny over fraud allegations.
The latest searches follow a series of enforcement operations targeting suspected fraud in Minnesota’s publicly funded programs. In April, federal and state investigators executed 22 search warrants in Minnesota, including at autism service providers and childcare businesses.
SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER
The Justice Department also announced charges against 15 defendants in May in connection with alleged health care fraud schemes involving more than $90 million in intended losses. The cases included an alleged $46.6 million scheme targeting Minnesota’s autism intervention program, which DOJ said saw Medicaid claims surge from more than $600,000 in 2018 to more than $400 million by 2025.
The raids come ahead of Vice President JD Vance’s planned visit to Minnesota — alongside members of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud — where allegations of public-services fraud have fueled growing questions about oversight.
Officials have not announced charges related to Thursday’s searches, and the allegations against any individual business remain unproven.