KEYS Empowers FBI raid has put new attention on millions of dollars in public funding tied to organizations at 7501 Liberty Road. Federal agents searched the Baltimore-area offices Wednesday, but authorities have not disclosed the reason. The organization has not been publicly accused of Medicaid fraud, Baltimore Chronicle reports.
Original reporting comes from Spotlight on Maryland. Additional records were reviewed by The Baltimore Banner.
FBI search puts KEYS Empowers and KEYS Development under scrutiny
The FBI searched the Liberty Road property on Wednesday. The agency confirmed the operation but has not explained what investigators were seeking.
Mujahid Muhammad operates KEYS Empowers and has been linked to KEYS Development through public records. Muhammad resigned from the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners after the search.
Federal NPI records identify Muhammad as an authorized official for KEYS Development at the Liberty Road address.
No criminal charges against Muhammad or KEYS were announced in connection with the search.
Medicaid payments rose from $2.1 million to $8.7 million
A Spotlight on Maryland analysis found about $32.3 million in Medicaid payments from 2018 through 2024.
The reported annual total rose substantially during that period.
| Year | Reported Medicaid payments |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $2.1 million |
| 2022 | $4.7 million |
| 2023 | $6.8 million |
| 2024 | $8.7 million |
The billing mix also changed. Supported housing represented most payments in 2018.
By 2023 and 2024, intensive outpatient substance-use treatment had become the largest category.
Payments for that treatment reportedly increased from $1.3 million in 2022 to $7.3 million in 2024.
That change alone does not establish wrongdoing. Investigators have not publicly connected the FBI search to Medicaid billing.
KEYS Empowers also received $1 million in ARPA funding
KEYS Empowers received $1 million from Baltimore’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation.
City records say the money supported the KEYS Community Healing Village project. The planned services include mental health care, job training and community programs.
The Baltimore Banner separately reported that KEYS Empowers disclosed more than $4.7 million in government funding across 2023 and 2024.
Neither Muhammad nor KEYS had publicly responded to requests for comment cited by the outlets.
Federal Medicaid fraud enforcement has intensified
The search comes during broader federal enforcement against health care fraud.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced its 2026 national takedown in June.
Federal prosecutors charged 455 defendants in cases involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraudulent claims.
Of those defendants, 295 were tied to Medicaid cases involving more than $518 million in alleged false claims.
Those national cases are separate from KEYS. Federal authorities have not publicly alleged that KEYS participated in those schemes.
Earlier we wrote that