A Colorado Medicaid provider allegedly billed the state $165,000 for rides taken after a patient had died, according to a House Energy and Commerce Committee report on vulnerabilities in taxpayer-funded health programs. The report says fraudulent claims can leave patients facing long waiting lists, substandard care, identity theft and, in some cases, no services at all.
Who Pays When Claims Are False
Wesam Yassin, one of two non-emergency medical transportation providers charged by state and local prosecutors in Colorado in February 2026, allegedly submitted $3.3 million in questionable bills to Colorado Medicaid through a company called Sama Limo. The committee report says Yassin allegedly billed $283,000 for 64 rides for one person—more than $4,000 per ride—and about $165,000 covered rides after the patient had died.
A federal release announcing the charges said, “Proceeds from this scheme were allegedly used for personal gain, including the purchase of a home, furnishings, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and cosmetic surgery.” Those are allegations, not findings of guilt. But the alleged bills point to a stark split: public health funds meant to support patients were allegedly turned toward private purchases.
Ashley Marie Stevens allegedly tried to obtain more than $1 million in taxpayer money. She allegedly billed the state about $400,000 for non-medical rides for herself and her family, along with “ghost rides” that never took place.
The committee report describes who bears the cost when public programs are exploited. “Medicare and Medicaid fraud occurs nationwide and costs American taxpayers billions of dollars a year,” it said. Fraud, the report added, is “especially egregious” in programs intended to serve vulnerable populations, including elderly people, disabled people, children and pregnant women. Patients suffer through identity theft, long waits, substandard health care and missing services, the report says.
A Paper Barrier, Then More Providers
Investigators observed nearly 500 hospices operating within a three-mile radius in Los Angeles County, according to the report. It counted 137 on Van Nuys Boulevard and 89 companies registered to one Van Nuys address. Citing data from a March 2022 California State Auditor's report and HHS hospice ownership data, the report said Los Angeles County had more than 31% of the hospice agencies in the United States in 2022.
The California Department of Public Health froze new hospice licenses in January 2022. Yet the committee report said 15 new hospices in a single Los Angeles County building received Medicare certification in 2023. The freeze restricts new licenses; those reported certifications show it didn't, by itself, stop new providers from receiving Medicare certification.
The report said House lawmakers raised concerns with the Department of Health and Human Services earlier in 2026 about the increase in home health and hospice providers and possible health care fraud tied to foreign criminal groups. Its account describes lawmakers and agencies responding through reports, concerns and licensing controls. It identifies no grassroots or patient-led response, and gives no account of mutual aid or community organizing around the alleged harms.
Billions in Alleged Schemes, No Price-Rule Details
The committee report described 2024 allegations of “years-long, large-scale” schemes targeting as much as $3 billion in U.S. taxpayer money through fake urinary-catheter bills. It said members of Russian organized crime groups bought 30 small medical supply companies already receiving federal funds and billed Medicare nearly $11 billion for urinary catheters. More than 99% of those funds never went out the door, the report said. Similar medical-equipment fraud schemes involved alleged bad actors in Estonia, Pakistan, Georgia and Hong Kong.
In Minnesota, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf pleaded guilty to trying to defraud $6 million from a state Medicaid-funded autism therapy program. The report said Yussuf and his co-defendants were accused of hiring unqualified behavior counselors and getting children enrolled by bribing their parents. At his plea hearing, Yussuf admitted he didn't actually know anyone with autism.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie told Fox News Digital, “combating fraud is a coast-to-coast battle.” He added, “Every instance of fraud we uncover represents money stolen from taxpayers and care taken away from the patients who depend on it most.” The committee report documents the alleged schemes and their costs, but the supplied Washington Post health brief URL returned only a headline and short teaser; it provided no details about proposed price-transparency rules. There's no account here of what those rules would require or who would enforce them.