Two Philadelphia-based men accused of traveling to Minneapolis after a friend told them the taxpayer-funded programs there presented “a good opportunity to make money,” pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Monday, court records show.
Anthony Waddel Jefferson and Lester Brown were accused of siphoning millions from federally funded programs administered by Minnesota officials that were meant to help the disabled and those suffering from addiction, according to court filings. Sentencing has not been scheduled for either man.
Court filings allege Brown and Jefferson submitted up to $3.5 million in “fake and inflated bills” for Medicaid reimbursements after they set up a company intended to provide housing and other services to individuals who qualified for the program. Â
They allegedly fleeced the housing program in Minnesota despite “living on the other side of the country and having no network in or connections to Minnesota or its communities,” the filings stated. Â
Federal prosecutors have been looking into large-scale fraud in several Minnesota programs ever since dozens were indicted and convicted starting in 2022 in the Feeding Our Future scandal, which saw the theft of $250 million in taxpayer funds meant to feed children in need. A top prosecutor suggested that the total amount of fraud in Minnesota could be $9 billion or more.
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