Man convicted of fraud, identity theft in $1.4M Medicaid fraud conspiracy

After a four-day federal jury trial, a Maple Grove man has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 40-year-old Eskender Yousuf of Maple Grove was convicted of all seven counts he had been indicted with. Yousuf is one of nine people indicted in the fraud conspiracy.

Court officials say six of the nine indicted have entered guilty pleas, and two others are still wanted.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Yousuf worked at Live Better, LLC, as a mental health practitioner, and claims he and his co-conspirators prepared and signed progress notes for clients’ mental health services. They also allegedly made false claims, causing more than $1.4 million to be paid by Medicaid for services that never happened.

As of this time, a sentencing hearing hasn’t been scheduled.