Millionaire ‘Welfare Kings’ Behind Medicaid Empire: Daily Wire Investigation

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former veterans hall on Westerville Road, once a gathering place for American heroes, now serves as the hub of a sprawling Medicaid billing empire run by a tight-knit group of Somali immigrants, according to a new investigation by The Daily Wire.

The investigation, part of the outlet’s “Medicaid Millions” series, exposes how millions of dollars in taxpayer funds flowed to businesses connected to individuals who, despite arriving as refugees from one of the world’s poorest countries, now control considerable wealth.

The saga centers on Ali Jama, who bought the Amvets Post No. 89 lodge in 2008. Jama later went to prison for defrauding the government, but The Daily Wire’s examination suggests his operation may have been seamlessly taken over by his associates.

Jama’s Conviction and Questionable Poverty Claims

In January 2018, one of Jama’s Medicaid businesses, Alpha Star Health Care, was caught defrauding the program out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite his apparent wealth, Jama filed tax returns claiming he made $0, costing the U.S. Treasury at least $700,000.

His defense was unusual: he claimed to be a polygamist funneling money abroad. His lawyer told a judge, “Almost every penny he earns he sends to his families.” In February 2019, Jama was sentenced to 18 months in prison and released in May 2020.

While Jama claimed to be broke, prosecutors noted in December 2020 that he had failed to make consistent restitution payments, making only four payments of $200 since May. His lawyer said he was working as a trucking dispatcher with “very limited resources.” He was released from supervised release early.

The Associates’ Wealth

Jama’s neighbors and associates paint a different picture. Three doors down from Jama lives Omar Said Omar, who owns six buildings, one of which houses nine Medicaid businesses that collectively billed the government nearly $20 million. Omar also co-owns Serenity Home Health Care, which has billed $33 million in recent years.

Another neighbor, Ahmed Duale, worked as Serenity’s administrative assistant and separately owns 11 properties in Columbus. He told The Daily Wire he moved to Wisconsin to start a Medicaid group home.

The Daily Wire found that a building owned by Omar, listed as the headquarters of Serenity Health Care Plus, was repeatedly found vacant by fire marshals despite business hours being posted.

The Medicaid Emporium

The investigation highlights a two-story building at 2021 East Dublin Granville Road in Columbus, which might be called “Gelle’s Medicaid emporium.” The building is registered as the address for 65 different companies that collectively billed $35 million in recent years.

The building’s owner, Ali Gelle, has a tax lien against him but owns or co-owns at least 14 properties valued at over $4 million. When The Daily Wire visited, a lobby directory listed 28 home health care companies.

Tenants take advantage of Ohio’s “personal services” expansion of Medicaid, which allows non-medical professionals to bill the government for cooking and cleaning—often in their own homes, as workers can be relatives of elderly enrollees.

Web of Companies and Ties

The investigation reveals a complex web of LLCs and shared addresses. The veterans hall is now owned by Central Ohio Investment Properties LLC, created in 2018 by Gelle but involving numerous people tied to Jama. The LLC’s address is the same as Accurate Home Healthcare, a Medicaid firm founded by Jama that billed $10.6 million and was cited by a state audit for “home visits” that couldn’t have occurred.

Partners in the holding company include Abdiweli Shiekhdon, Accurate’s CEO, and Osman M. Issa, who incorporated Pacific Home Health Services LLC, which billed $8.1 million. Issa also registered to vote using Jama’s address.

Some participants used the same lawyer, Dwight Hurd, who was convicted of felony fraud before the conviction was overturned on a technicality.

The New Medicaid Magnate

With Jama sidelined, Gelle appears to have taken over as the Midwest’s Medicaid magnate. He has registered at least 16 for-profit companies, including A Plus Academic Achievement LLC and AAG Import & Export Co.

The building Gelle co-owns with Ahmed Farah Mohamed houses Accessible Home Healthcare LLC, which was the “doing business as” name of Jama & Sulub Home Healthcare LLC, busted in 2013 for misappropriating $700,000 from Medicaid. The new firm operates out of Suite 188, while the old one was in Suite 185—a suite that no longer exists.

A Pattern of Abuse

The investigation suggests that Medicaid home health is often dominated not by healthcare professionals but by opportunists who open businesses in various fields, with the commonality being they bill the government or facilitate money transfers overseas.

The Daily Wire also found that non-Medicaid tenants in Gelle’s emporium include “social services” nonprofits. Suite 110 houses Our Helpers, which received $1.9 million in grants, including $279,000 from Ohio. The nonprofit lists Hawa Farah, who public records suggest is Gelle’s wife, as treasurer.

The investigation raises questions about whether enforcement is a game of whack-a-mole, as resources shift among participants and make it difficult to stop or even identify abuse.

Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-millionaire-welfare-kings-behind-a-quality-medicaid-empire