NewsNation Exposes Shocking Somali Fraud Operation in Maine

State-funded health contractor accused of phantom billing and funneling U.S. taxpayer money overseas.

NewsNation has helped to uncover what may be one of the most brazen taxpayer-funded fraud operations outside of Minnesota — a sprawling scheme in Maine that allegedly siphoned U.S. Medicaid dollars into Somali politics and even paramilitary groups.

At the center of it all is Gateway Community Services, a health contractor paid by the state to serve vulnerable Mainers.

But according to whistleblower Chris Bernardini, what Gateway actually ran was something closer to a shadow operation — one that began with falsified paperwork and ended thousands of miles away on another continent.

Bernardini says Gateway oversaw a system where visit logs were fabricated to make it appear that staff were checking in on low-income and disabled clients.

The electronic monitoring system meant to verify those visits, he alleges, was deliberately manipulated so it looked like employees were traveling to homes they never came within miles of.

Once the digital trail was forged, the organization allegedly billed the state for services that were never performed — leaving taxpayers on the hook for care that never existed in the first place.

That alone would have been a major scandal. But what NewsNation reporter Rich McHugh uncovered goes far beyond simple fraud.

MCHUGH:

“The more we dig into this story, the crazier it actually gets.”

“We’re learning now more about the man who founded and was the executive director of Gateway Community Services here in Maine.”

“At the same time last year, he was running for president of Jubaland, a section of Somalia. His name is Abdullahi Ali.”

“And in an interview with Kenyan media, he openly discussed contributing money back to Somalia and paramilitary forces.”

According to McHugh, Ali didn’t just hint at it — he admitted on camera that funds sent from Maine were helping fuel armed groups back home.

“When I was away and abroad, the financial contributions I was sending back were being used to support the forces for buying bullets, ammunition and food.”

Those revelations sent shockwaves through the state.

So McHugh went to Maine to speak with Republican state Senator Matt Harrington, who says enough is enough — especially under a Democratic administration that refuses to comment.

SEN. HARRINGTON:

“To add insult to injury, you know that the founder of Gateway Community Services has openly said that he has funneled money into Somali elections, into paramilitary groups.”

“That’s just an absolute slap in the face to every Maine taxpayer that these funds that could be used to help Maine people, Maine veterans, Maine senior citizens, Maine families who are struggling…are being funneled to Somalia directly.”

The investigation only deepened when McHugh met the whistleblower who first alerted authorities — Chris Bernardini.

Bernardini recalled the moment he realized the scale of what was happening.

BERNARDINI:

“I learned that he was running for president of Jubaland, which is like a small country inside of Somalia.”

“And that he had admitted to funding the militia groups over there…in Somalia.”

“That’s part of their thing that they do. Every president has a militia that they have to fund in order to run for president.”

Ali himself responded last week on X, framing his actions as both lawful and honorable.

“I make no apologies for building a successful business in Maine, working hard to earn a living earning my PhD, giving back to my Maine community, and running for office in Jubaland. I am proud to contribute my hard-earned $ to support my people back home.”

But when McHugh attempted to question him directly, he hit a wall.

He says he reached out to Ali numerous times, visited Gateway’s headquarters, and was told by staff only: “no comment.”

“Now we’ve reached out to Governor Janet Mills, multiple times,” McHugh added.

“We’ve also reached out to the head of Health and Human Services here. We’ve also reached out to the three Democratic members of the House here…nobody will speak to us.”

For taxpayers, the implications are staggering: a state-funded health contractor allegedly falsifying client visits, billing Medicaid for millions of dollars of services never rendered, and funneling money to a foreign political campaign — possibly even to armed groups.

And for now, the only people willing to talk about it are the whistleblower, one Republican senator, and a reporter asking questions that Maine’s leadership won’t touch.

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