Man pleads guilty to wire fraud in Minnesota housing program scheme

A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud in a scheme prosecutors said bilked a now-defunct Minnesota housing program out of millions of dollars.

Moktar Aden entered his plea at a 10 a.m. hearing.

Prosecutors said Aden enrolled his company, Brilliant Minds, as a Housing Stabilization Services provider in 2022. Between September of that year and April 2025, charges say the company submitted reimbursement claims totaling about $2.3 million, making it one of the 10 highest-billing providers in the state.

Prosecutors said Aden pocketed between $300,000 and $400,000 of that money for himself, and much of the rest was diverted to others who participated in the scheme.

The state shut down HSS in October after federal regulators found it was "riddled with fraud."

Aden's sentencing has not yet been scheduled.