Federal prosecutors this fall announced charges against a Minnesota woman, Asha Farhan Hassan, accusing her of running a brazen autism-fraud scheme that funneled more than $14 million from state Medicaid programs into private pockets through a company called Smart Therapy. The indictment paints a picture of an organized operation that preyed on taxpayer-funded safety nets meant to help vulnerable children and families.
According to court filings, Hassan and her partners recruited children from the Somali community, worked with a so-called Qualified Service Provider to rubber-stamp diagnoses, and then submitted inflated and fabricated claims to the Minnesota Department of Human Services and insurers. Prosecutors say the group paid monthly kickbacks to parents—ranging roughly from $300 to $1,500 per child—to keep enrollments high while employing untrained teenage relatives as “behavioral technicians.” This wasn’t sloppy bookkeeping; it was a calculated scam built on exploitation.
Investigators say Smart Therapy obtained over $14 million from 2019 through 2024, and prosecutors allege Hassan used stolen funds to buy real estate in Kenya and to funnel money overseas, raising troubling questions about where these taxpayer dollars ultimately ended up. The paper trail shows a pattern of theft that reaches beyond Minnesota’s borders and into informal money-transfer networks. Taxpayers deserve to know whether public dollars meant for therapy are being diverted into private investments and foreign transfers.
This arrest fits into a larger tapestry of welfare abuse that federal prosecutors say has mushroomed in recent years, from housing stabilization and food-aid schemes to the explosive rise in autism-provider billing across the state. Authorities warn these schemes form a “web” of fraud that has cost Minnesotans dearly and clogged legitimate services for children who truly need care. The scale of the problem demands more than press releases; it demands real reforms and accountability.
Make no mistake: exposing criminals is not the same as condemning an entire community, but we also cannot look the other way when fraud takes hold in tight-knit neighborhoods and preys on both families and the public trust. State agencies failed at basic oversight, allowing provider counts and reimbursements to explode without adequate auditing, and political leaders must answer for that dereliction. Voters expect leaders to protect kids and taxpayers, not preside over systems where scammers can turn therapeutic programs into cash machines.
Republicans and conservatives should seize this moment to demand stronger controls: immediate audits, clawbacks of stolen funds, stricter credentialing for providers, criminal prosecutions where warranted, and reforms to the payment systems that reward volume over verified care. Protecting children with autism means prioritizing clinical standards and parental choice, not sprawling bureaucratic programs that invite abuse. The moral duty here is plain—restore integrity to programs designed to help the most vulnerable.
Patriotic Americans of every background should be united in outrage at thieves who exploit disability programs for profit while genuine families wait on therapy lists. Tough love for bad actors, compassion for victims, and relentless oversight of government spending are conservative principles that matter now more than ever. Hold the criminals accountable, reform the broken systems, and let’s get those resources back to kids who truly need therapy and to the taxpayers who fund it.
