Seven charged in Minnesota Medicaid fraud schemes totaling over $700,000

Seven people were charged Tuesday in a series of Medicaid fraud schemes that the Minnesota Attorney General's Office says cost taxpayers more than $700,000.

Tremayne Jackson, 46, of St. Paul, is facing seven counts of felony theft by false representation for allegedly defrauding the state's medical assistance program of over $125,000 between July 2020 and June 2024. Charges say Jackson claimed to provide thousands of hours of personal care assistant services, companion care services and homemaker services in Minnesota, all while he was employed as a basketball coach in Kansas.

Fifty-five-year-old Christine Pryor, of Fargo, North Dakota, was charged with six counts each of theft by false representation and identity theft. Pryor is accused of defrauding the Medicaid program out of over $150,000 between June 2021 and June 2024. Charges say Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients without having any license or credentials to do so herself. The complaint alleges Pryor used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals and claimed to provide services to over 160 Medicaid clients.

Fernando Navarro, 53, of Minneapolis, is facing four counts of felony fraud for collecting nearly $70,000 in funds from Minnesota's medical assistance program under false pretenses. Navarro collected the money while claiming to provide personal care assistant services to a child in Minnesota for more than two years after the child had moved to California, charges allege.

Two men from Blaine were also charged in the crackdown: 45-year-old Shawki Elsaid and 26-year-old Ahmed Agwa. Elsaid is facing eight counts of felony theft and two counts of identity theft, while Agwa has been charged with six felony theft offenses. Both men are accused of billing hundreds of hours of personal care assistant services they never rendered, including services they claimed to have performed in Minnesota while they were actually out of the country. Elsaid is accused of bilking the medical assistance program out of over $182,000, while Agwa is accused of swindling over $94,000 from the program.

Edward Sherrod, 37, of Columbia Heights, is facing six felony theft offenses for allegedly stealing more than $60,000 from the state Medicaid program. Sherrod is accused of billing over 3,500 hours of personal care assistant services "that did not occur as alleged" because he had another job or was providing services to a different person in a different place at the same time.

A 39-year-old woman from East Grand Forks, identified as Jessica Wavra, is accused of bilking the program out of over $29,000 by billing for mental health services and targeted case management services she did not provide.

Of those charged Tuesday, five of the providers were terminated from or no longer enrolled in Medicaid.

"I have no patience for anyone who would steal our tax dollars, especially when those tax dollars are meant to provide health care for low-income Minnesotans who couldn't afford it otherwise," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. "My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is one of the best in the nation, and today's charges demonstrate that we are working hard day in and day out to hold Medicaid fraudsters accountable and recover the tax dollars they stole from hardworking Minnesotans."

The Minnesota Department of Human Services says it has stopped payments to nearly 700 providers since Jan. 1, 2025, based on "credible allegations of fraud."

Tuesday's charges are just the latest in a slew of fraud allegations in Minnesota. Within the last year, the Trump administration has deferred hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota, citing fraud. 

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges against 15 people in a $90 million Medicaid fraud scheme. Of those, eight were accused of defrauding the Housing Stabilization Services program, which the Minnesota Department of Human Services shut down last year over fraud concerns.