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Maine health officials have suspended payments to a nonprofit serving Somali immigrants after a third audit found the organization had been overpaid more than $1 million in taxpayer funded Medicaid funds.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services temporarily halted all payments to Gateway Community Services after determining the nonprofit was overpaid $1,068,598 between March 2021 and December 2022, 8 Investigates reported.
A DHHS spokesperson told 8 Investigates on Tuesday that the Office of MaineCare Services Program Integrity Unit launched the audit in January 2023 after internal data analytics raised concerns.
The findings follow earlier audits that uncovered additional overpayments.
Documents obtained by 8 Investigates last month showed Gateway overpaid the state $662,608 between 2015 and 2018. DHHS said those overpayments were identified through two multiyear audits that were triggered by complaints.
An attorney for Gateway confirmed in an email to 8 Investigates that the nonprofit recently received notice from the Program Integrity Unit stating that its MaineCare reimbursements were being paused over allegations of improper billing for interpreter services.
“Gateway has very little information about what this is based upon besides that notice and it will take time to review and respond to these allegations,” the attorney said.
“Gateway stands by its previous statements on this issue and will continue to cooperate with the state as it has in the past,” the attorney added.
The case has drawn scrutiny from Republicans in Maine and at the national level, who have called for investigations into organizations that serve immigrants while receiving federal Medicaid funding.
Gateway Community Services operates in Portland and Lewiston and primarily serves Somali immigrants in Maine. The Democrat-leaning nonprofit has also maintained close ties to elected officials.
Rep. Deqa Dhalac, a Democrat from South Portland, previously served as Gateway’s assistant executive director.
Rep. Yusuf Yusuf, a Democrat from Portland, previously stated in his legislative profile that he worked closely with Gateway, a reference that was later removed after questions emerged about the organization.
State Auditor Matt Dunlap told 8 Investigates that Gateway will be included in this year’s state audit, which is scheduled for release in March.
At the federal level, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has identified Gateway as an organization of interest. Comer named Gateway Community Services and Dhalac in a letter sent Monday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting suspicious activity reports as part of a broader probe into alleged social services fraud involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
In September, Comer sent a letter to Maine Gov. Janet Mills and DHHS Commissioner Sara Gagne Holmes requesting records related to state and local programs that provide health coverage and other services to undocumented immigrants as part of an investigation into waste fraud and abuse.
The letter did not name specific organizations.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, where similar fraud allegations surfaced earlier this year, Republican challenger John Nagel is accusing Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of being closely linked to the $1 billion Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, which is based in her Minneapolis congressional district.
Nagel claims that legislation introduced by Omar contributed to the circumstances that allowed the fraud to take place.
“Where did this actually start?” Nagel said, Townhall reported. “She passed legislation. Her legislation actually started it, and it allowed people to get into Feeding Our Future.” Nagel pointed to the geographic concentration of the fraud.
“If you look at where the fraud is, it’s primarily her district, the district that I’m running in against her,” he said. “And it’s really odd to think that all the fraud just happened in a particular area.”
Omar introduced the Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act, known as the MEALS Act, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill allowed states to provide free meals to children during school closures through alternative methods such as grab-and-go distribution and eased eligibility requirements. Omar has denied any wrongdoing.
