February 6, 2015

Owner and Director of Eden Prairie Daycare Center Pleads Guilty to Theft of Public Money

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the guilty plea of KHADRA ABDISAFAD HIRSI, 47, for stealing money in the form of child care subsidies from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the State of Minnesota. The defendant pleaded guilty on February 4, 2015, before Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., to one count of Theft of Public Money.

According to her guilty plea and documents filed in court, HIRSI was the director and co-owner of Ace DayCare Center, Inc. (Ace DayCare) located in Eden Prairie, Minn. Many of the families for whom Ace DayCare provided childcare services participated in the Child Care Assistance Program, which provides low-income families with childcare assistance. HIRSI was responsible for submitting truthful and accurate billing forms for childcare services provided by Ace DayCare to families participating in the Child Care Assistance Program. Under the Child Care Assistance Program, child-daycare providers submit billing forms for reimbursement directly to the counties where qualifying families reside.

According to her guilty plea and documents filed in court, in February and March of 2013, HIRSI knowingly submitted Child Care Assistance Program billing forms that falsely inflated the number of children who received childcare services provided by Ace DayCare. As a result, HIRSI fraudulently obtained approximately $20,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the State of Minnesota for childcare services that were not actually provided.

“With our partners, we are aggressively targeting child care providers who try to collect payments from public programs for services they don’t provide,” said Minnesota Department of Human Services Inspector General Jerry Kerber, whose office oversees fraud prevention and detection efforts for state public assistance programs. “The seriousness of this crime is underscored by the fact that more than 6,100 Minnesota families are waiting to receive child care assistance.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Office of Inspector General.

U.S. Attorney Luger thanked the Minnesota Department of Human Services for their assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Kokkinen is prosecuting the case.

Defendant Information:

  • KHADRA ABDISAFAD HIRSI, 47
  • Eden Prairie, Minn.

Convicted:

  • Theft of Public Money, 1 count