Somalia’s U.N. ambassador associated with fraud-connected Ohio health company, HHS confirms
Abukar Dahir Osman, Somalia’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations and current president of the U.N. Security Council, has a role in a Cincinnati health care company which faced federal scrutiny over a Medicaid fraud conviction, HHS confirmed Monday.
“I can confirm public speculation that Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, Permanent Representative of Somalia to the UN and President of the Security Council, is in fact associated with Progressive Health Care Services, a home health agency in Cincinnati,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill posted on X. “HHS has previously taken action against Progressive in response to a conviction for Medicaid fraud.”
“More to come,” O’Neill added.
HHS’ National Provider Identifier system lists “Abukar D. Osman” as “president & CEO” of Progressive Health Care Services Inc., located on Boudinot Avenue in Cincinnati. The company did not respond to calls from The Daily Signal to the number listed on the registry.
HHS declined to provide further information on the alleged Medicaid fraud connection.
“By statute we cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation,” Bethany McCorkle, communications director for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, told The Daily Signal Tuesday.
Scrutiny for Somali Community
The U.S. Somali community is facing renewed scrutiny in the wake of multiple fraud scandals in Minnesota.
The Minneapolis nonprofit Feeding Our Future reported fake food distribution sites while collecting federal child nutrition assistance in a $250 million fraud scheme. The office of U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen has charged at least 78 defendants connected to the scheme, and 56 of them have pleaded guilty.
Authorities have also filed charges in a $14 million fraud case involving an autism program and a multi-million dollar fraud case involving housing stabilization services.
One federal prosecutor has estimated Medicaid fraud in the state to have exceeded $9 billion.
According to the Associated Press, around 89% of the defendants in the wide-ranging fraud cases trace their descent to Somali immigrants. Minnesota state Rep. Kristen Robbins, a Republican, previously told The Daily Signal that while Somalis make up a majority of defendants in the cases, “some of the best whistleblowers have come from the Somali community.”
Somali refugees come to the U.S. to escape the civil war in their homeland, which has dragged on for more than 30 years. Piracy, grinding poverty, and the influence of radical Islamist groups like Al-Shabaab continue to trouble the East African country.
Somalia at the U.N.
The U.N. General Assembly elected Somalia to join the Security Council for a two-year term as a non-permanent member in June 2024.
Osman, as the Somali representative on the Security Council, manages the council’s schedule and presides over its meetings as president for January 2026.
The Daily Signal reached out to the Permanent Mission of the Somali Republic to the United Nations for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.
The United Nations declined to comment for the story.
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]