The FBI is on the hunt for a suspect tied to a $90 million fraud case in Minnesota who evaded officers by jumping from a fourth-floor balcony and hobbled away.
Muhammad Omar, one of 15 people accused of defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid programs, ran from FBI agents on Thursday morning just before officials led a conference on the case.
Footage from the scene showed Omar hopping along the grounds on one foot while holding a shoe in his hand.
He was seen wearing a white shirt and bright blue shorts, with the suspect tripping and falling before walking into an unknown building.
Colin McDonald, the Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, called on the public to help find Omar.
“I would encourage the public to help turn this man in to face justice for the fraud that he has perpetrated, and now, to face the additional charges for seeking to flee from law enforcement and seeking to obstruct justice by virtue of his conduct today,” he said.
Omar had been charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and four counts of health care fraud.
McDonald said the bust involved the “highest loss amount ever charged in a Medicaid case” as well as the “largest autism fraud scheme ever.”
“One patient was supposed to be receiving 24-hour care … but he was actually being serviced by a fraudster and received no services,” McDonald said. “This patient was later found dead.”
The stolen money was spent on luxury real estate, vehicles, and expensive jewelry, prosecutors alleged.
McDonald suggested that the total amount of fraud that hit the state could exceed $9 billion.