Sen. Michael Holmstrom (R-MN) is now calling for a judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota to unseal a set of documents in a case where she overturned a jury’s guilty verdict involving a Somali couple who defrauded taxpayers of $7.2 million as part of a Medicaid scheme. Holmstrom referred to Judge Sarah West as a “true extremist” in his criticism of her actions that protect the fraudsters from facing consequences for their actions.
Abdifatah Yusuf and his blushing bride, Lul Ahmed, were charged in June 2024 and were accused of stealing millions from the state’s Medicaid program while operating a home healthcare business. The Minnesota Attorney General revealed that the business did not have an official office location and operated for “years out of a mailbox.” The attorney general also stated that Yusuf received money from the Medicaid program by billing them for services that were not provided or that did not have “any documentation,” along with overbilling for other services.
So what happened to all that cash? Yusuf and his wife used the funds they received from their scam to pay for a “lavish” lifestyle that included a number of shopping sprees at top-rated luxury stores like Nike, Nordstrom, Michael Kors, and Coach. The attorney general’s office also revealed that Yusuf directed a million dollars from the business directly into a personal account and withdrew $387,000 in cash.
According to Fox News, a jury convicted Yusuf of six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, over $35,000 in August. But then Judge Sarah West got involved in mid-November and ruled the case be tossed out. West wrote in her ruling that prosecutors “relied heavily on circumstantial evidence,” going on to add that they failed to rule out other possible “reasonable inferences” or explanations for what happened to the money.
West then said that she was “troubled by the manner in which fraud was able to be perpetuated at Promise Health,” the company run by Yusuf. Sen. Michal Holmstrom stated in an interview with Fox that West is a “true extremist.” He told Fox, “Judicial reform is necessary in Minnesota… This wasn’t an extreme situation. This is just how she operates.”
“I think that she is a true extremist, that her ideology is running her courtroom and damaging our justice system. People in Minnesota are questioning whether or not the judicial system can be trusted. And with judges like this, I see why,” he continued. Holmstrom stated that he noticed one of the sealed exhibits in the case contained an international money order to a person whose identity was kept secret from an unknown country. He made a request for the document to be unsealed, which has yet to be approved.
Holmstrom made his request in a letter addressed to Judge West, saying, “I am writing you regarding a case recently before you State of Minnesota v. Abdifatah Adbulkadir Yusuf. This case represents a matter of the highest public concern as it relates to allegations of fraud in our public welfare programs. Minnesotans have long valued a safety net for those in need of temporary help, but have become tired of rampant abuse of those programs, in particular due to fraud. The extraordinary decision by you to overturn a decision of a jury has become a matter of intense public debate and scrutiny.”
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He then added, “To that end, I recently attempted to obtain Exhibit #70 that appears to have been presented in an open court as part of the trial. This exhibit was referenced in your order dismissing the case. The courthouse notified me that this exhibit was under seal and that I would need to contact you and your chambers to obtain it.”
“I cannot imagine a situation,” Holmstrom wrote, “where a document presented in an open court could later be sealed from the public. The First Amendment and common law have long protected the right for the public to access court records. It is of course possible that the administrator was incorrect, and that it is not under seal. Regardless, please provide a copy of this exhibit to me by 12/4/2025.”
Watch Holmstrom skewer her here: