9 Mins Read
ADNews-U.S.A: The growing business empire of Sekou Hussein Dukuly, Managing Director of Liberia’s National Port Authority (NPA) under President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, faces scrutiny following an investigative report by MPR News and APM Reports into his ownership and management of Minnesota group homes.
According to the investigation, companies linked to Dukuly collected at least US$36 million in taxpayer funds over the past decade through Minnesota’s Medicaid-supported group-home industry. The report said Dukuly has been connected to businesses operating at least 24 group homes, primarily in the northwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities.
The investigation further alleged that the financial success associated with Dukuly’s group-home businesses came alongside serious concerns about the treatment of vulnerable residents, including cases in which residents were allegedly neglected, and deaths occurred at facilities linked to him.
MPR News and APM Reports indicated that Minnesota authorities investigated suspected maltreatment involving Dukuly-linked facilities on at least 22 occasions, with the state finding neglect in 10 cases.
Four of those investigations involved the deaths of residents, while the state determined that a fifth resident died after being improperly discharged from a Dukuly-affiliated facility.
The report said Dukuly’s group-home businesses represent only a small portion of Minnesota’s roughly 1,600 licensed facilities, but have accounted for a disproportionate number of state investigations involving deaths.
Police officers interviewed for the investigation reportedly said they were familiar with some of the group-home addresses because of frequent emergency calls involving residents, staff and neighbors.
Managing Group Homes From Liberia
One of the central issues raised by the investigation is Dukuly’s continued involvement in Minnesota’s assisted-living industry while serving as a senior Liberian government official.
According to the report, Dukuly was living in Liberia while still serving as the licensed assisted-living director of at least three Minnesota facilities until reporters contacted him last week.
Following that contact, he removed himself as director at two facilities, although he remained listed as director of one Golden Touch Health Care group home at the close of business Friday.
The Minnesota Department of Health said there is no statute preventing a person from living outside the state and that an assisted-living director is not legally required to be physically present at the facility.
However, Steve Jobe, executive director of Minnesota’s Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports, questioned whether operating such facilities from abroad is consistent with the responsibilities of an assisted-living director.
University of Minnesota public-health professor Ezra Golberstein also questioned how the licensing and inspection system allowed the arrangement to continue.
Death of Group Home Resident Raises Questions
The investigation highlighted the death of Stacy Muchko, a 46-year-old resident at a Golden Touch Health Care group home in Brooklyn Park.
According to the report, Muchko had previously complained about feeling unsafe at the facility and was reportedly involved in several incidents involving other residents.
In October 2025, she was found unresponsive on a bathroom floor after allegedly being left unattended for about 20 minutes. Staff reportedly contacted a nurse instead of immediately beginning CPR.
A subsequent state investigation concluded that group-home staff should have started CPR. Emergency responders attempted to revive Muchko for nearly 40 minutes before she was pronounced dead.
The Minnesota Department of Health later determined that Golden Touch Health Care had neglected Muchko, although the facility is appealing that determination.
Other Deaths and Allegations
The investigation also examined other deaths involving residents of group homes linked to Dukuly.
According to MPR News and APM Reports, three other residents died under circumstances serious enough to trigger state maltreatment investigations, with all three deaths involving drug overdoses.
One of those residents, Tammy Fremgen, was found dead in 2023 at a group home in Brooklyn Park. The Minnesota Department of Health subsequently determined that the facility had failed to adequately supervise her.
The investigation also cited the case of Ollie Bickham, who overdosed twice within a week at a Dukuly-affiliated group home. According to state findings, he received naloxone from another resident rather than from staff responsible for supervising him.
Bickham was later moved to his brother’s home, where he was subsequently found dead from a fentanyl overdose. State authorities concluded that the group home had improperly discharged him and that his death might have been prevented with increased supervision.
Financial Questions
Beyond the allegations concerning group-home operations, the investigation raised questions about Dukuly’s financial dealings.
Public records reviewed by MPR News and APM Reports reportedly show that Dukuly was accused of misrepresenting his finances during two separate Minnesota court proceedings.
The report said a family court magistrate reviewing one case found more than US$400,000 in deposits into Golden Touch Health Care’s bank accounts during the first half of 2018 and identified expenditures that appeared to include personal expenses. The magistrate eventually estimated Dukuly’s annual income at nearly US$180,000, substantially higher than the amount he had reported.
The investigation also reported that three businesses linked to Dukuly withheld more than US$45,000 in employee taxes but failed to remit the money to the state, according to liens filed against group-home properties.
Importantly, the report noted that neither federal nor Minnesota state authorities have accused Dukuly or his business partners of Medicaid fraud.
Liberia Business Dispute
The investigation also examined a business dispute between Dukuly and Yang Dan, an entrepreneur now living in Australia.
Yang alleged that he transferred more than US$300,000 to bank accounts associated with Golden Touch Health Care and Berkeley Heights Homes, Minnesota companies linked to Dukuly. Yang said the funds were intended to support construction of a mineral-water bottling plant in Liberia.
The report said Liberian police previously investigated Yang’s complaints and found no evidence of criminal conduct, characterizing the matter as a business dispute.
Dukuly has denied wrongdoing in relation to the allegations and is reportedly involved in litigation with Yang over the Liberian business.
Dukuly Declines Interview
Dukuly declined an interview with MPR News and APM Reports.
In a text message, he said he did not believe an interview was appropriate for issues involving family and legal matters, adding that he believed the public record spoke for itself concerning the operational and licensing questions.
He also declined to say whether he was in Minnesota or Liberia when contacted by reporters. However, his social-media activity indicated that he was meeting shipping-industry representatives in Congo Town, Monrovia.
Questions for Liberia
The investigation comes as Dukuly serves as Managing Director of the National Port Authority, one of Liberia’s key public institutions responsible for the country’s maritime and port operations.
His appointment to the NPA leadership was celebrated in Monrovia in 2024, where he was praised for his business achievements in the United States. Dukuly himself said at the time that after spending 19 years in the United States, he was ready to return to Liberia because he loved the country.
The MPR News/APM Reports investigation now places renewed attention on the extent of his continuing business interests in the United States while occupying a senior public position in Liberia.
The investigation also raises broader questions about Minnesota’s oversight of taxpayer-funded group homes and the ability of owners and licensed directors to manage facilities while living outside the United States.
Minnesota’s Department of Human Services said an owner of a Medicaid program moving abroad would raise concerns for investigators, although it acknowledged that doing so is not necessarily prohibited by law. The Department of Health, meanwhile, said it had taken enforcement action against providers for statutory violations but had not revoked the license of one facility linked to Dukuly.
For Liberia, the report places Dukuly’s private business activities and his public responsibilities under fresh scrutiny, particularly as questions emerge over how much time and attention can be devoted to the management of a major government institution while maintaining significant business interests abroad.
Source MPR News/APM Reports investigation.
Afric Daily Newspaper could not independently verify all allegations contained in the MPR News/APM Reports investigation. The allegations and findings attributed above are based on the published investigation and the public records described in that report. Dukuly’s response and the positions of Minnesota authorities have been included where available.
Comments are closed.