A former employee at a Maine healthcare company has come forward with allegations of Medicaid fraud, raising questions about whether similar schemes that drained over $1 billion from Minnesota have spread to other states.
Christopher Bernardini, who previously worked as a billing specialist at Gateway Community Services, disclosed his concerns to NewsNation on Monday.
He claims the company engaged in fraudulent billing practices to secure payments from Maine’s Medicaid program.
Gateway Community Services submitted false documentation to receive reimbursements for services allegedly provided to low-income and disabled individuals, according to Bernardini.
The company’s operations have come under scrutiny following reports of irregularities in its billing procedures.
Gateway Community Services received $28.8 million in Medicaid funds from the state of Maine, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request by The Maine Wire.
The company is owned by Abdullahi Ali, who reportedly sought political office in Jubaland, a region within Somalia.
Ali allegedly made claims about providing financial support to a militia operating in that area, The Maine Wire reported.
Bernardini told NewsNation he initially believed his work at the company served a beneficial purpose.
“I have a passion for helping people and I thought that we were doing the right thing this whole time,” he stated. However, his perspective changed as he witnessed what he describes as systematic billing irregularities.
“When I had clients calling me to tell me their staff hadn’t shown up and I was told to bill those hours anyway. It just got worse and worse until I started really putting up a stink,” Bernardini said.
The former employee alleges that Gateway Community Services manipulated an electronic monitoring system designed to track field staff.
This system was altered to falsely indicate that client visits had occurred when staff members had actually failed to appear, according to Bernardini.
The allegations in Maine emerge amid a massive fraud investigation in Minnesota, where at least $1 billion was reportedly stolen through various schemes.
Some of that money allegedly ended up in the hands of Al-Shabaab, a radical Islamic terrorist organization.
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased its presence in the Minneapolis area, targeting illegal immigrants from Somalia in connection with the fraud revelations.
In Minnesota, state employees have accused Democratic Governor Tim Walz of engaging in what they characterize as “systemic” retaliation against whistleblowers who attempted to expose the fraud schemes, Resist the Mainstream reported.
The Justice Department is currently pursuing three federal cases related to the welfare fraud scandal.
During a Nov. 30 appearance on “Meet the Press,” Walz acknowledged that Minnesota “attracts criminals.”
When host Kristen Welker questioned him about the scandal, Walz insisted that Somali residents should not be demonized.
The Maine allegations have sparked political tensions in the state.
Democrats have criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles for raising concerns about The Maine Wire’s reporting on Gateway Community Services.
Democratic officials in Maine have characterized Charles as racist for bringing attention to the allegations, creating a contentious debate about the intersection of fraud investigations and ethnic communities.
