Ahmed Nur, a Minneapolis-area business owner convicted in a Medicaid fraud case, is now trying to claw back cash and other property the state grabbed after his guilty plea. His legal challenge drops into the middle of a yearslong crackdown on health care provider fraud that prosecutors say drained millions from Minnesota’s medical assistance programs. Local judges will now decide whether those seized assets stay parked with the state to help cover restitution and other penalties, or head back to Nur.
According to FOX 9, Nur pleaded guilty last year to two counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindling in a case prosecutors say involved nearly $10 million in improper Medicaid billing. FOX 9 reports that he was sentenced to 180 days in the Hennepin County Workhouse and, along with nearly a dozen co-defendants, was ordered to pay more than $2.3 million in restitution. The outlet says Nur is now asking a court to roll back or limit the state’s seizures that were tied to that judgment.
The original investigation took shape in 2023, when the Minnesota Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged owners and managers of a company called MN Professional with scheming to bill for personal-care services that never happened. The Attorney General’s Office alleged roughly $9.5 million was involved and described what it called an "elaborate check-cashing" setup that funneled money to insiders. The office has said it intends to use both criminal restitution and civil remedies to recover taxpayer dollars, and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office laid out those charges in detail in 2023.
Nur’s move comes as Minnesota prosecutors continue to pursue a series of other major Medicaid fraud cases and asset recovery efforts. The Star Tribune recently reported a guilty plea in what officials called an $11 million scheme, underscoring how courtroom fights over forfeiture and restitution have become a regular feature of the state’s enforcement playbook.
How the state recovers taxpayer money
To get money back for taxpayers, prosecutors lean on criminal restitution orders alongside civil cases that let them freeze, seize or forfeit assets tied to alleged fraud, then route whatever they recover to victims and the state. The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit says it holds both criminal and civil authority for these recoveries and has carried out recent enforcement operations against health care providers. Those tools sit at the center of Minnesota’s effort to reclaim funds it says were taken from public assistance programs, according to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
What’s at stake
The judge’s ruling on Nur’s challenge could shape how fast restitution gets paid and how forcefully prosecutors use asset seizures as leverage in plea negotiations and civil recoveries. If any property is returned, it may spark broader questions about the timing and reach of forfeitures in similar Medicaid fraud cases. If the state wins, the seized funds stay in its pocket, ready to be applied to restitution orders and, ultimately, to reimburse taxpayers.
