Empty Offices, $28 Million GONE—Maine’s Massive Fraud Exposed

(LibertyInsiderNews.com) – A shocking investigation in Portland, Maine has uncovered a building housing ten home healthcare companies that appear to exist only on paper, with the landlord reporting nobody ever works there—raising alarm bells about yet another massive taxpayer fraud scheme bleeding MaineCare dry.

Story Snapshot

NewsNation investigation found ten Somali-owned healthcare firms in one Portland building with landlord confirming offices remain perpetually empty
Gateway Community Services, the main entity under scrutiny, received $28.8 million in MaineCare payments while three separate audits identified over $1 million in overbilling
Whistleblower Chris Bernardini alleges he witnessed firsthand billing for services never provided to patients
House Oversight Committee now investigating Maine case as part of broader nationwide fraud pattern following Minnesota’s $1 billion pandemic relief scandal
Maine suspended payments to Gateway in December 2025, but state legislators demand criminal prosecution for what they call robbery of taxpayers

Empty Offices Expose Suspected Shell Operations

NewsNation reporters discovered a Portland building registered as headquarters for ten different Somali-owned home healthcare companies, but the landlord confirmed a disturbing reality: nobody actually works there. The investigation revealed patterns identical to Minnesota’s massive fraud scandal, where shell companies billed government programs for phantom services. This physical evidence transforms the case from mere billing disputes into potential proof of organized fraud infrastructure. The empty offices suggest these entities exist solely to funnel taxpayer money, not to provide legitimate healthcare services to Maine’s vulnerable populations.

Gateway’s $28.8 Million MaineCare Payday Under Fire

Gateway Community Services, founded in 2015 by Abdullahi Ali, collected $28.8 million in MaineCare payments between 2019 and 2024 despite repeatedly failing state audits. The first audit in 2018 found over $660,000 in overbilling. A second audit in 2024 identified another $660,000-plus in improper charges. The third audit, completed in 2023 but previously unreported, revealed over $1 million in questionable payments from 2021-2022 alone. Maine finally suspended Gateway’s MaineCare payments in late December 2025, but only after years of documented irregularities. This pattern reveals catastrophic regulatory failure—how did a provider with multiple fraud findings continue receiving millions in taxpayer funds?

Whistleblower Details Systematic Billing Fraud

Former Gateway employee Chris Bernardini came forward in December 2025 with explosive allegations of systematic fraud he witnessed firsthand. Bernardini claims Gateway routinely billed MaineCare for services never provided to patients, creating false documentation to justify payments. Gateway’s attorney dismissed Bernardini as a “disgruntled employee” laid off in April 2025, arguing he never raised billing concerns despite having “end-to-end insight into every stage of the billing process.” This defense raises obvious questions: if billing practices were legitimate, why would an employee with complete system access become disgruntled enough to risk his reputation by going public? The whistleblower’s detailed knowledge makes his allegations particularly credible and damaging.

Federal Investigation Signals Nationwide Fraud Pattern

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer made clear this investigation extends far beyond Maine, stating: “This just isn’t about Minnesota. This just isn’t about the Somali community. This is about every state and every social program because we believe that this is happening in other states.” The Minnesota case, described by former Attorney General Merrick Garland as “the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme,” involved over $1 billion stolen from taxpayers. Maine State Senator Matt Harrington demanded immediate criminal prosecution, arguing “You can’t rob a bank for millions of dollars. You shouldn’t be able to rob taxpayers of millions of dollars and get away with it.” The federal investigation represents a crucial step toward accountability, but legitimate questions remain about why state authorities waited so long to act despite multiple audit red flags.