Before $11 million fraud trial, defendant flees country

Lou Raguse of KARE-11 has the report that Abdirashid Ismail Said, accused of an $11 million Medicaid fraud, fled the country a week before his scheduled courtroom trial.

And how did he get away? He posted a $150,000 unconditional bond. The judge did not make him surrender his passport. This, despite a previous conviction for Medicaid fraud.

I wrote about the case back in 2023. Said, age 50, was billed out of Fridley, MN. He was facing ten (10) felony counts in the most recent case, including racketeering, theft, and perjury. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, but the fraud. case is now in “dormant” status. An insurance company is now on the hook for the $150,000 bond.

The bond amount was set by Hennepin County Judge Juan Hoyos, a Mark Dayton appointee.

Said’s jury trial was scheduled to begin Monday morning, April 13. In the unlikely event that Said ever return, Judge Hoyos has reset bail to $2 million.

Campaign filings records confirm that, back in 2015, Said donated the maximum $1,000 to the state representative campaign of now-Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MPLS).

[Note: an earlier version of this post appeared at Power Line.]