Fake meetings & phantom services alleged as MN's Housing Stabilization Services program booms
KARE 11
[{'start': '0.280', 'end': '2.920', 'text': "Minnesota has one of the nation's first Medicaid funded programs to help people find housing. It costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, but a Care-E11 investigation discovered clients who claim they're not always getting what you're paying for. Here's AJ Lego with Housing Hustle, a new Recovery Inc investigation. You're walking along with Carol Elen Investigates following the money trail to a company billing taxpayers millions. We're gonna go pay the Brilliant Minds offices a visit. Brilliant Mind Services provides housing stabilization Services, or HSS, a Medicaid funded program designed to help people with disabilities find and maintain housing. Minnesota DHS oversees the program, which is exploding in cost. State HSS billing data shows from July 2020 to the end of 2024, DHS paid out $248 million. That same data reveals brilliant Minds is one of the state's highest builders. Last year alone paid more than 1.1 million. Their listed headquarters is the Saint Paul building. Suite 120, so it's right here. What led us to this door? Door's all locked up. Is a story buried. Some brilliant minds started 38. In Medicaid billing records. -- Over 2000 -- dollars in supposed support that they gave me. Due to safety concerns, Rachel Lean asked we not show her face. Scam. 100% scam. Rachel's story begins at RSE, a Minneapolis addiction treatment center. In February 2024, Rachel, previously homeless and battling addiction, was successfully completing treatment. She'd already signed this lease for an apartment, a new start on a sober life with her young son. A friend told her Brilliant Minds, an HSS provider, could help. She texted the Brilliant Minds contact, Aiden, saying she had already found a place, and at this point, I need help getting things for my apartment, like a vacuum and cleaning supplies. We got you for sure, she was told. They weren't helping you find housing? No, no, not at all. Then came this text. Hello, -- my name is Mohammed and I am your direct housing coordinator from Brilliant -- Minds. There's some back and forth texts about setting up a meeting that Rachel says never happened. I never met with them. I never did any type of housing plan. Unbeknownst to Rachel, Brilliant Minds began billing Medicaid. Hundreds and thousands of dollars, claiming to help her find housing. -- $1,648 -- for me. -- At Carol -- Evans' request, Rachel emailed Brilliant Minds asking for her detailed records. They show Mohammed Mohammed met with Rachel in person on March 8th for three hours from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and they spent a quality amount of time getting to know one another. RS Eaton records prove Rachel was actually in treatment at that exact time. Not getting to know the young man in this Facebook photo. Probly submitted a claim, lied, -- and said that he -- met with me. Between March 8th and April 6, Brilliant Minds claim Mohammed spent 30 hours assisting Rachel with her housing search and application process, billing Medicaid more than $2000. Remember, she already had housing. Rachel texted on March 20th. I said, Hi, Mohammed. I moved into my new place. I'm in need of help transferring my electricity into my name because I have a very large past bill that I am unable to pay. Also, I need a vacuum cleaner very badly. Can you help me with this? Right after being texted that Rachel was in her new place, records show brilliant minds build Medicaid as if Mohammed spent 6 hours trying to find her a new place. The Brilliant Minds Records claim, on March 22nd and 23rd, Muhammed researched affordable housing and delivered household items to Rachel. Yeah, yeah, there's no way. There's just no way. She has proof. Days later, on March 27th, Rachel texted her original brilliant minds contact, Aiden, that she had not been helped with anything, never met with the worker assigned to her, and was starting to think this whole housing stabilization service is just a scam. The text chain shows Aiden apologized and sent Mohammed over to her home. They just showed up one day and gave me a vacuum cleaner and that was it. Even after being at her apartment, records show Brilliant Minds billed taxpayers for 12 more hours trying to find her an apartment. No he's here. Let's try to give him a call. That's why. 1 is standing at their door. -- Welcome -- to Verizon Wireless. Your call cannot be completed as dial. The phone disconnected. Every time we visited during listed business hours, the office dark and locked. This looks like a dead end. Secretary of State filings list another mailing address in Woodbury for brilliant minds. We tried there, the home. Vacant. There's a realtor's box on the door. It doesn't look like anybody's living here. We eventually received an email response from Brilliant Minds that all services rendered were thoroughly documented. They were more than willing to submit all relevant documentation to DHS for official review, and declined to be interviewed. Taxpayers paid $2000 to this company for you to get a vacuum cleaner. Yes, yep. That's it. Responding to what they label program integrity concerns earlier today, DHS told Carol Levin they're going to change how they background and screen HSS providers to now provide enhanced oversight. They'll be handled at a high risk level for Carol Levin Investigates. I'm AJ Lego. AJ and our Care Len Investigates team found a lot more suspicious billing involving other companies as they dug into this taxpayer funded housing program. Their reporting continues next week, and if you have information that will help their investigation, you can email investigations@cael1.com."}]