A Minnesota judge has found herself at the center of a political firestorm after overturning a guilty verdict in a case involving misappropriated Medicaid funds.
In November, Hennepin County Judge Sarah West granted a judgement of acquittal for Abdifatah Abdulkadir Yusuf, overturning a unanimous jury verdict which had convicted him on the charges connected to a company he owned, and which had been involved in the $7.2 million fraud case. In her order, West said the original conviction had relied “substantially on circumstantial evidence.”
The Minnesota Judicial Branch told Newsweek that neither West nor court staff were able to comment on the case, noting that the matter remains pending after it was brought to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Why It Matters
West and the case have reemerged as a focal point in the debate over alleged large-scale fraud in Minnesota, which escalated in recent weeks after the state’s acting U.S. Attorney said $9 billion or more in federal funds may have been stolen since 2018. The Associated Press, citing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota, reported that Somali Americans made up 89 percent of those that had been charged in connection with such fraud cases as of December 19.
The issue has escalated into a national flashpoint, with President Donald Trump launching a series of verbal attacks against immigrants from the East African nation, calling the state a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” under Democrat Governor Tim Walz. Meanwhile, federal immigration authorities have launched targeted enforcement operations in the state, and the Treasury Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have announced investigations into fraudulent schemes in Minnesota.
In addition, Somali Americans have warned against stigmatizing the entire community based on the alleged crimes by a group of defendants.
What To Know
Court documents show the defendant was charged with, and subsequently convicted of, six counts of aiding and abetting theft through fraudulent reimbursement claims submitted to Medicaid by a business he owned. However, in her decision, West said there was a “reasonable, rational inference” that the defendant’s brother “was committing the fraud and operating the business in a reckless manner without Mr. Yusuf’s knowledge or involvement.”
However, the court added that it was “troubled by the manner in which fraud was able to be perpetuated” at the company.
At the time, the decision drew some criticism from lawmakers and legal experts. University of Minnesota law professor JaneAnne Murray told Fox News Digital earlier this month that it was “highly unusual for a judge to reject a jury’s verdict in any case, much less a white-collar one, where issues of intent will almost always be circumstantial.”
The case involving West has gathered renewed scrutiny after a video “exposing Minnesota fraud” was posted to X on Friday by Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old YouTuber with more than 1.1 million followers. In the 42-minute video, the independent journalist and Trump-sympathetic influencer visited daycare centers in the state which were empty despite, Shirley said, receiving millions of dollars from government-run programs.
Michael Holmstrom, a Republican member of the Minnesota Senate, sent a letter to West in late November, requesting that all documents from the case be unsealed and noting that her “extraordinary decision” to overturn a jury’s verdict “has become a matter of intense public debate and scrutiny.” His letter was reposted on Monday by Tesla CEO Elon Musk with the caption: “Corruption.”
On Sunday, Musk also wrote: “Judge should be fired” in response to a post about West’s decision to overturn the verdict.
Several posts from MAGA-aligned social media accounts have also called on the judge to resign or be fired.
X account MAGA Voice wrote on Sunday: “Elon Musk calls for ‘Judge’ Sarah West to be fired for throwing out a $7,000,000.00 dollar unanimous Somali fraud conviction. I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH ELON. BRING BACK LAW AND ORDER.”
Meanwhile, West assumed office in 2018 after she was appointed by then-Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.
What People Are Saying
Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Judge Sarah West, in an order: “The Court is concerned about the fraud that occurred at Promise. The way this case was presented and the failure by the State to actually connect the dots, even through clear inference from circumstantial evidence, that Mr. Yusuf knowingly assisted in the fraud is more than concerning. The trier of fact, and this Court upon review, should not be in a place of having to dig through and work to interpret the volumes of evidence to establish the State’s case.”
Minnesota Senator Michael Holmstrom, speaking about the case to Fox News in early December, said: “Judicial reform is needed in Minnesota. That is definitely true. But the judge absolutely was acting outside of her authority to do this. It’s been already brought to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, so the Attorney General’s office is appealing it. And I’m sure they’re going to win on appeal.”
Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz’s office wrote in a previous statement to Newsweek: “The Governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and asked the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight—including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed. He has hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”
What Happens Next
On Saturday, following the release of Shirley’s video, FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
