HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN — A 26-year-old man who fled to Amsterdam last November was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on the evening of Sept. 10 after voluntarily returning to face federal fraud charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota.
The man, identified as Kaamil Omar Sallah, made his initial appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins. He faces four counts of wire fraud stemming from a December 2025 grand jury indictment.
Prosecutors say Sallah orchestrated a scheme to defraud Minnesota's Housing Stability Services program, a Medicaid funded initiative meant to help people with disabilities and addictions find and keep housing.
Sallah owned and operated SafeLodgings, Inc., which he registered in March 2023 and enrolled as an HSS Program provider the same month.
From March 2023 through August 2025, Sallah and his company allegedly claimed entitlement to about $1.4 million for HSS services and received nearly $1.3 million.
Prosecutors say Sallah submitted fake and inflated bills, and coconspirators submitted false claims overstating the services SafeLodgings actually provided.
In 2024 alone, Sallah claimed to have personally logged more than 3,600 billable service hours, authorities said.
Sallah flew from MSP to Amsterdam on or about Nov. 26, 2025, roughly two weeks before the indictment was returned. His return to Minnesota was coordinated by the Federal Defenders Office after he told officials he wanted to self-surrender.
"I commend the work of our law enforcement partners in coordinating the safe transfer of the defendant back to Minnesota. Sallah will now face justice for his role in defrauding Minnesotans and the American people," U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said in a statement.
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