Minn.: Somali immigrant honored with ‘Outstanding Refugee Award’ charged in $1.5M Medicaid fraud scheme tied to sex trafficking ring

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC.

A man previously awarded the “Outstanding Refugee Award for Entrepreneurship” by the Minnesota Department of Human Services is now facing charges in connection with a Medicaid fraud scheme tied to a sex trafficking ring.

On Monday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison charged Somali immigrant Salman Ahmed Elmi

 

 in Ramsey County District Court with 8 felony theft counts — three counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle and five counts of aiding and abetting theft by false representation.

 

The criminal complaint alleges that Elmi’s company, Reva Health, fraudulently billed Medicaid for over $1 million since 2023 in services that were either unauthorized or never provided.

State investigations and court documents associate Elmi and his co-conspirators with additional healthcare and housing entities — including Reva Autism, Helpful Housing, and Homefelt Assisted Living — which collectively billed state and federal programs for millions in fraudulent claims.

Three other individuals involved in the scheme included Frank Reeves, Viktoriya Komonash and former Anoka County prosecutor Andrea Sampson, 

 

who were busted last week in Hennepin County for running a sex-trafficking enterprise.

The operation purportedly preyed on vulnerable young women struggling with addiction or homelessness, forging documents to rent apartments under the victims’ names and forcing them into a pay-for-sex scheme.

According to investigators, the defendants stole the victims’ personal information to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent Medicaid claims through entities such as Elmi’s Reva Health.

With the defendants facing numerous felony counts, authorities cautioned on Monday that the scope of the scheme is likely far larger than initially uncovered. Prosecutors further allege that Elmi used his partial ownership in Tavolo — a Minneapolis startup that secured investment from Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary in 2024 — to obtain the initial funding for Reva Health.

He was later awarded in 2021 the “Outstanding Refugee Award for Entrepreneurship” by Minnesota’s Department of Human Services.

Ellison emphasized further that Elmi’s charges serve as “another warning” that those who “cheat Minnesotans” will be caught and prosecuted.

“Medicaid fraud steals money meant to provide healthcare to our low-income friends and neighbors,” said Ellison. “It is illegal and it makes my blood boil, which is why I’m filing these charges and why I’ve built a strong record of holding fraudsters accountable. My team and I have won over 340 Medicaid fraud convictions so far, which is an average of one fraud conviction every eight days since I’ve been your Attorney General. These charges serve as yet another warning that those who try to cheat Minnesotans will be caught and charged.”

Since Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.) took office in 2019,

 

 his administration has come under sharp scrutiny over widespread fraud schemes across several state agencies. Prosecutors estimate potential losses could exceed $9 billion, with high-profile cases mostly involving members of the state’s Somali community.