Minnesota won $90 million in judgments against Medicaid fraudsters. Only a fraction is actually paid back.

This year, the legislature spent $90 million to upgrade aging technology used by counties administering social services programs.

It’s the same amount of money Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says his office has won back in recoveries and judgments from the people who stole from one of those public assistance programs — Minnesota Medicaid.

The $90 million figure represents restitution from criminal cases prosecuted by the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), along with civil settlements and judgements ordered by the courts.

But a months-long review of state court records by 5 INVESTIGATES found convicted fraudsters have paid just a small fraction of the criminal restitution they’ve been ordered to return to the state.

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