By Contributing Writer
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — Minnesota authorities have taken sweeping action against three assisted-living facilities connected to Liberian National Port Authority Managing Director Sekou Dukuly, suspending their licenses and withholding public payments amid allegations of Medicaid fraud, inadequate management and serious risks to vulnerable residents.
The enforcement action follows an investigation by Minnesota Public Radio News and APM Reports that raised questions about Dukuly’s role in operating group homes in the Twin Cities while serving as a senior government official in Liberia.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services said Thursday that it had stopped payments to facilities affiliated with Dukuly because of what it described as credible allegations of Medicaid fraud. The agency stressed, however, that the payment suspension does not itself establish that fraud occurred and that any final determination would be made through the legal process.
Separately, the Minnesota Department of Health moved to immediately suspend and revoke the licenses of three Golden Touch Health Care facilities in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. The department cited licensing violations and what it characterized as an imminent threat to residents’ health and safety.
At the center of the state’s concerns is the management of the facilities. According to the investigation, Dukuly identified himself to Minnesota licensing officials as responsible for the day-to-day operation of three facilities despite living thousands of miles from Minnesota.
State officials said the facilities lacked appropriate licensed leadership and that the previous assisted-living director was not sufficiently involved in their operations. With government payments now disrupted, officials said maintaining the homes without proper management could expose residents to additional risks.
The immediate suspension will allow the state to relocate residents to other facilities, while the license revocations would effectively close the three homes and bar their owners and managers from obtaining new licenses for five years.
Residents remained in the facilities Thursday as state officials began the process of addressing their welfare. One resident, Thomas Vasquez, 50, questioned why government intervention had taken so long and said the facility should have been closed earlier.
The state action represents a significant escalation against companies associated with Dukuly, who has reportedly been involved with as many as 24 group homes across the Twin Cities metropolitan area over the past decade.
State spending records reviewed in the investigation show that companies linked to Dukuly received approximately $36 million in public funds during that period. Golden Touch Health Care alone received more than $4 million between 2022 and 2024.
The facilities have also faced repeated investigations over alleged maltreatment. State records reportedly show at least 22 investigations involving group homes connected to Dukuly, including four cases involving resident deaths.
One of the most serious cases involved the death of a 46-year-old woman with a severe lung condition who collapsed in a bathroom at a Golden Touch facility last year. Minnesota officials concluded that the facility had neglected her because employees had not been adequately trained in CPR. The company has challenged that finding.
Other incidents cited in investigative records raise additional questions about supervision and resident safety. In one case, a convicted sex offender living at a Golden Touch facility allegedly sexually assaulted a vulnerable woman after she was left unsupervised with him. Her mother later sued the company, alleging negligence. The case was ultimately settled outside court.
In another incident, a lone employee reportedly abandoned a facility during a shift in 2023, leaving five vulnerable adults without supervision for roughly 90 minutes. Police were subsequently called after a resident reported significant property damage inside the home.
Financial records have also raised concerns. A state tax lien indicates Golden Touch withheld nearly $15,000 from employees’ wages but failed to remit the money to Minnesota authorities. Tax liens were also placed against two other companies associated with Dukuly.
The investigation further identified nearly $300,000 in international wire transfers to U.S. bank accounts belonging to Golden Touch and another Dukuly-linked company. The transactions were documented by a businessman who had partnered with Dukuly on a mineral-water venture in Liberia. The two men are currently involved in a legal dispute concerning control of that business.
Dukuly declined an interview request during the investigation and did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the latest state action. Previously, he maintained that public records addressed questions surrounding the operation and licensing of the facilities.
The Minnesota crackdown comes as the state faces broader concerns over fraud within publicly funded social-service programs. Minnesota officials have designated several programs as particularly vulnerable to fraud, while federal prosecutors have pursued cases involving what they have described as large-scale Medicaid schemes.
Gov. Tim Walz, responding to the latest enforcement action, said fraud involving public programs cannot be tolerated and pledged continued efforts to strengthen oversight and enforcement.
The case also places renewed attention on the responsibilities of Liberian officials with substantial private business interests abroad. Dukuly’s position as managing director of Liberia’s National Port Authority, alongside his reported involvement in Minnesota’s assisted-living industry, has intensified questions about management, accountability and the potential conflicts that can arise when senior public officials maintain extensive commercial activities outside the country.
For the residents affected, however, the immediate issue is more basic: whether the facilities entrusted with their care can provide safe, properly supervised and accountable services. Minnesota authorities have now determined that three Dukuly-linked facilities do not meet that standard and have begun the process of shutting them down.
