Minneapolis, Minnesota: Agents Raid Two Autism Centers in Medicaid Fraud Investigation

Federal and state agents raided two Twin Cities autism service providers on Thursday, October 29, 2026, executing search warrants in a Medicaid fraud investigation that officials say is still active. The Minnesota Attorney General's office identified the businesses as Iska Inc. in St. Louis Park and Bright Horizon Therapy Center in Edina, two suburbs west of Minneapolis.

Attorney General Keith Ellison said his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit executed the two warrants alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. FOX 9 reported that the wider operation also involved U.S. Postal Inspectors, Internal Revenue Service criminal investigators and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The FBI Minneapolis office said Thursday afternoon that agents and partners had conducted court-authorized investigative activity at multiple sites in ongoing efforts to protect communities from fraud.

Morning searches in St. Louis Park and Edina

Employees told FOX 9 that agents were going in and out of the Iska center in St. Louis Park at about 7 a.m. on Thursday, before the center opened. A nearby worker said agents entered Bright Horizon Therapy Center in Edina just before 8 a.m. and started bringing out records. FOX 9 later saw agents taking boxes and files from Iska's corporate office. The St. Louis Park site was partially boarded up afterwards, and the glass at its entrance appeared to be broken. No arrests were reported in the searches.

What the centers do, and the money involved

Both businesses are licensed to provide autism services and other Medicaid-funded services, and both are under investigation for suspected fraud, the attorney general's office said. Employees told FOX 9 that Iska operates seven days a week and serves about 10 to 15 children a day. State Department of Human Services data cited in reporting on the raids show Iska received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid funds for autism services from 2018 to 2025, and Bright Horizon received nearly $17.7 million from 2020 to 2025. Those payment totals do not by themselves show wrongdoing. Neither provider has been charged, and officials have not disclosed the specific focus of the investigations. Records cited by FOX 9 show Iska had a failed Department of Human Services site visit and a correction order in 2024.

Closed doors, and no charges yet

Both centers were closed after the Thursday searches, FOX 9 reported. Calls and emails to Iska and to Bright Horizon were not returned. Officials have not said whether charges are coming, how long the centers will stay closed, or where the children they serve will go next. The attorney general's office told The Center Square that other locations were also raided Thursday, but its unit was not involved in those searches. In April, more than 20 locations were raided in the wider Minnesota fraud investigations. Former state representative Jeremy Munson noted that no charges, arrests or dollar amounts have been reported yet in the new cases.

A fraud fight in a political week

The raids came one day before a planned fraud-focused visit to Minnesota by Vice President JD Vance. Minnesota News Network reported on Friday that the visit, scheduled for St. Cloud on October 30, was canceled, that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota confirmed the cancellation, and that officials gave no reason. Ellison said his office will keep holding fraudsters accountable without fear or favor, to protect public dollars and the Minnesotans who rely on Medicaid. The investigations are ongoing, and the full scope of the federal work has not been disclosed.