Minnesota judge under fire for tossing $7.2M taxpayer-fraud conviction tied to alleged 'lavish lifestyle'

Abdifatah Yusuf and his wife Lul Ahmed were charged in June 2024 after they were accused of stealing $7.2 million from the state's Medicaid program while running a home healthcare business that lacked an office building and operated for "years out of a mailbox," according to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office.

Yusuf directed over $1 million from the business account to his personal account and also withdrew over $387,000 in cash, the attorney general's office said.

West wrote in her decision that the case "relied heavily on circumstantial evidence," adding that the state didn't rule out other potential "reasonable inferences."

The judge added she was, however, "troubled by the manner in which fraud was able to be perpetuated at Promise Health."

Minnesota State Rep. Kristin Robbins said she was shocked upon hearing the guilty verdict was overturned.

"I was stunned. We want to strengthen state law so that we can get prosecutions out of these cases. Because clearly a jury thought he was guilty," Robbins said.

The jury foreperson in Yusuf's case, Ben Walfoort, said the decision to convict wasn't complicated and was confused by West's decision.

"It was not a difficult decision whatsoever. The deliberation took probably four hours at most. Based off of the state's evidence that was presented, it was beyond a reasonable doubt," Walfoort said. "I am shocked. I'm shocked based off of all of the evidence that was presented to us and the obvious guilt that we saw based off of the said evidence."

Yusuf's attorney, Ian Birrell, praised West for the decision and said his client was wrongly accused, according to KARE.

"Judge West's ruling affirms what we have maintained from the beginning: our client Mr. Yusuf was wrongfully accused and did not commit fraud or racketeering. The Court's decision to enter judgments of acquittal on all charges reflects the fundamental principle that justice requires both fairness and proof. We appreciate the Court's careful attention to the evidence and the law."

The Minnesota Attorney General's Office, led by Democrat Keith Ellison, has filed an appeal of West's decision to overturn Yusuf's verdict.

Minnesota has grappled with fraud problems, including the Feeding Our Future scheme, which involved hundreds of millions of dollars in embezzled COVID-19 funds. The alleged fraud stems from Minnesota's Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program, Feeding Our Future and other organizations.

His decision came after a report from the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, alleged that millions of dollars were being funneled to Al-Shabaab, a Somali terror group, related to the Feeding Our Future scam.

Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for West and Yusuf's attorney for comment.

Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this report.