COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a startling revelation that echoes the ongoing social services scandal in Minnesota, an Ohio attorney and conservative commentator has come forward as a whistleblower, accusing a network of fraudsters within the state's Somali community of siphoning millions of taxpayer dollars through a sophisticated Medicaid exploitation scheme. Mehek Cooke, who has been privy to confessions from community insiders, warns that the operation has persisted for over a decade and could extend far beyond Ohio's borders.
"Minnesota was just the tip of the spear," Cooke told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. She described a system where doctors allegedly "rubber stamp" approvals for home healthcare benefits, allowing family members to claim up to $91,000 annually per individual for care that providers say is largely fabricated. These payouts, Cooke claims, are funneled to relatives of elderly Somali immigrants under the guise of treating severe medical conditions, conditions that vanish suspiciously when social media posts show the supposed patients dancing at parties or otherwise active just days after their evaluations.
The scheme, according to Cooke, exploits a well-intentioned loophole in Ohio's Medicaid waiver program, designed to enable compassionate in-home care for vulnerable populations. "Say I want to take care of my elderly aging parents at some point. I can become a home health provider, and this is where the Somali community has been really clever," she explained. "They've been able to find loopholes in Ohio law to provide for care for family members, even when they don't need it."
Insiders who approached Cooke at considerable personal peril, painted a grim picture of coercion within the community. These providers alleged they were pressured to participate, with doctors receiving kickbacks for their complicity in the approvals. One chilling detail: those who spoke out risked being "stoned to death" if their involvement was exposed, underscoring the fear gripping participants. Cooke emphasized that the fraud isn't indicative of the broader Somali community, which she described as hardworking and integrated, but rather the work of "criminals within the Somalian community that have exploited Ohio's Medicaid program." She pegged the actual qualification rate for these benefits at a mere 1%, with 99% of recipients allegedly coached to lie during medical assessments.
Ohio's Medicaid system, Cooke argued, is particularly vulnerable due to lax oversight. "We have entrusted states to look at the funding and to allocate it to build programs, to build rules and regulations. But unfortunately, in states like Ohio, it is being infiltrated and broken down because you don't actually have independent assessments with not only doctors but somebody at the Department of Medicaid coming in," she said. "There's not random visits that are happening all the time." This absence of checks, she contends, makes Ohio's program one of the "easiest in the Midwest to game."
The timing of Cooke's disclosure is no coincidence. It comes amid Minnesota's explosive fraud investigation, where authorities have uncovered luxury cars, high-end properties, and cash-stacked operations tied to similar abuses in the state's social services, including Medicaid and other aid programs. Cooke likened the Midwest neighbor's troubles to "just a snippet of what's happening in Ohio," suggesting a regional pattern that demands urgent scrutiny.
As the whistleblower's claims ripple through Columbus and beyond, questions loom about the scale of the losses – estimated in the millions – and the adequacy of current safeguards. Ohio's Department of Medicaid has not yet responded to requests for comment on the allegations, but Cooke is calling for immediate action. "I think every state, in addition to Ohio, should be asking for audits of their Medicaid system and their programs," she urged. "At the end of the day, Ohio taxpayers are hurting, the American people are hurting, and we don't have enough tax dollars."
For now, the story serves as a stark reminder of how even the most benevolent safety nets can be twisted into tools of exploitation. As investigations potentially unfold, one thing is clear: the spear's full length may reveal wounds far deeper than anyone anticipated.Sources:- Fox News – “Whistleblower warns ‘massive fraud’ happening in Ohio’s Somali community, Minnesota ‘just the tip of the spear’”
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