State and federal agents searched two Twin Cities autism therapy providers Thursday in a Medicaid fraud investigation, a day before Vice President JD Vance visits Minnesota to make an announcement on fraud.
Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office said its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit executed search warrants with the FBI and the Health and Human Services inspector general at Iska Inc. in St. Louis Park and Bright Horizon Therapy Center in Edina.
Both companies provide services through EIDBI, Minnesota’s Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention program for children with autism, as well as other Medicaid-funded services.
The FBI described “court-authorized investigative activity at several sites,” including locations in Rochester, MPR News reported. “This is an active investigation, and no further details are available at this time,” FBI spokesperson Matt Vogel said.
IRS criminal investigators, U.S. Postal Inspectors and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also took part in the searches.
Millions in Medicaid Payments
Iska received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid autism funding from 2018 to 2025, while Bright Horizon collected nearly $17.7 million from 2020 to 2025, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported, citing state Human Services data.
Bright Horizon’s billing grew quickly. Records obtained by WCCO show it billed the state less than $200,000 in 2020 and more than $7.5 million last year.
Both businesses billed Medicaid for other services too. Iska billed the Housing Stabilization Services program, which the state shut down over fraud concerns, and Bright Horizon billed for adult mental health rehabilitation, another program vulnerable to fraud.
Iska failed a state site visit in 2024 and received a correction order, according to FOX 9. Both centers were closed after the searches, and agents were seen carrying out boxes and files.
Drew Mills, who works near Bright Horizon in Edina, told the Star Tribune that he and co-workers had grown suspicious of the center because of its lack of foot traffic.
“We were saying, ‘This is really weird. It seems like nothing is happening here,’” Mills said. “I had a feeling it was only a matter of time.”
“We will keep holding fraudsters accountable without fear or favor to protect public dollars and protect Minnesotans who rely on Medicaid,” Ellison said in a statement.
The state Department of Human Services said it is tracking the investigation.
“When we see evidence of fraud, we shut off money and refer suspected criminals to law enforcement. We are thankful to see criminals being held accountable,” the agency said.
No charges have been announced, and neither company responded to calls and emails Thursday.
Minnesota labeled the autism program one of its Medicaid services at high risk for fraud last year. Federal agents searched five other autism centers in April as part of 22 search warrants executed across the state.
Earlier raids in December 2024 led to charges against at least four people connected to two autism centers, and two people had pleaded guilty as of April.
Vance will hold a news conference Friday in St. Cloud with members of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. His office said he will make an announcement about “the Administration’s War on Fraud.”
It is unclear whether Thursday’s raids are connected to the announcement.
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