Liberian government official and Sekou Dukuly, who was appointed managing director of the National Port Authority in 2024, is facing scrutiny in the United States over his involvement in Minnesota’s group home industry, where businesses connected to him have received at least $36 million in taxpayer-funded payments over the past decade.
An investigation by MPR News and APM Reports found that Dukuly has been connected to at least 24 group homes across Minnesota, primarily in the northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis. The facilities provide residential care and supervision for people with mental illnesses, physical disabilities and other vulnerabilities.
According to the investigation, Minnesota health authorities have investigated Dukuly-linked facilities or their employees at least 22 times over suspected maltreatment. State investigators found neglect in 10 cases, including cases involving the deaths of residents. Four deaths were directly investigated by the Minnesota Department of Health, while another resident reportedly died after being improperly discharged from a facility.
The findings have raised questions about how Minnesota regulates group homes and monitors operators receiving Medicaid funding.
Continued role in Minnesota despite living in Liberia
Dukuly moved to the United States from Liberia in the 2000s and later built a business portfolio around group homes. He established or held ownership interests in several companies, including Golden Touch Health Care, Ashton Homes, Berkeley Heights Homes and Unique Homes.
By 2020, businesses linked to him were authorized to operate at least 11 group homes, with some employing dozens of workers and receiving more than $500,000 through the federal Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Dukuly relocated to Liberia and became involved in the country’s public sector, he continued to maintain connections to the Minnesota group home industry.
According to the investigation, he remained listed as the assisted living director for three facilities until reporters contacted him seeking comment. He subsequently removed himself from the director position at two facilities, although he remained listed as the director of a Golden Touch Health Care facility.
Minnesota officials have offered differing views on whether his residence in Liberia presents a licensing concern.
The Minnesota Department of Health said state law does not prohibit an assisted living director from living outside the state and said the position does not specifically require the director to be physically present at the facility.
Steve Jobe, executive director of Minnesota’s Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports, offered a different perspective, saying that an assisted living director is expected to maintain an on-site presence.
University of Minnesota health policy professor Ezra Golberstein also questioned how someone living overseas could effectively oversee group homes in Minnesota.
Resident deaths and allegations of neglect
One of the cases highlighted by the investigation involves Stacy Muchko, a 46-year-old resident of a Golden Touch Health Care group home in Brooklyn Park.
Muchko had several health conditions and reportedly told her adult child that she felt unsafe at the facility. Police records documented fights and other disturbances at the home, while officers also raised concerns about sanitation and staff responses to conflicts among residents.
In October 2025, Muchko was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor after reportedly being left unattended for about 20 minutes.
According to the investigation, the employee who found her did not immediately begin CPR and instead contacted the facility’s nurse, who called 911. Emergency responders attempted to revive Muchko for nearly 40 minutes but were unsuccessful.
A subsequent state investigation concluded that staff should have initiated CPR and determined that the facility had neglected Muchko. Golden Touch Health Care is appealing the finding.
Courtesy of Alex Muchko
The case also raised questions about the facility’s emergency preparedness. State inspectors later found that the home had not submitted a required evacuation plan and identified other violations.
Three other residents at Dukuly-linked facilities had previously died in circumstances that resulted in state maltreatment investigations. The investigation reported that the deaths involved drug overdoses.
Tammy Fremgen died in 2023 at a Berkeley Heights Homes facility. State investigators later concluded that the group home failed to adequately supervise her despite her known history of substance use.
Another resident, Ollie Bickham, was reportedly overdosing repeatedly while living at a Dukuly-affiliated group home. During one incident, another resident administered naloxone to save him. The state later determined that the facility improperly discharged Bickham. He died several months later after overdosing on fentanyl while staying with his brother.
Courtesy of Lenza Robinson
Frequent police calls and neighborhood disputes
The investigation also documented repeated police responses to several Dukuly-linked facilities.
In New Hope, authorities responded 133 times in one year to two group homes controlled by Sekou and Sheikh Dukuly. Calls reportedly involved fights, noise complaints, drug overdoses and other disturbances.
After the 2022 death of resident Jake Zahradka from a drug overdose, New Hope’s city council revoked the rental licenses of two Dukuly-linked group homes.
The Dukulys challenged the city’s decision, accusing officials of discriminating against residents with disabilities. The group homes were eventually sold to another provider for a reported $3.5 million.
In July 2022, Sekou Dukuly defended his oversight of a Berkeley Heights Homes group home as New Hope’s city council considered revoking its rental license to operate in the city. A month earlier, one of the group home residents had died of a drug overdose.
Courtesy of the city of New Hope
The dispute contributed to a broader legislative fight over local authority to regulate group homes. In 2024, Minnesota lawmakers removed cities’ ability to shut down group homes through local rental licensing, leaving the state with primary authority over such facilities.
Local officials have since criticized the change, arguing that municipalities should have greater power to respond when facilities generate repeated public safety and neighborhood problems.
Questions surrounding Dukuly’s finances
The investigation also examined Dukuly’s financial history and business dealings.
Court records show that in a 2018 child-support case, Dukuly reported relatively little income. However, a court magistrate reviewing his financial records found that Golden Touch Health Care had received more than $400,000 in deposits during the first six months of that year.
The magistrate also identified expenses that appeared to be personal rather than business-related, including gym memberships, transportation, coffee, fast food and luxury clothing purchases.
The court ultimately estimated Dukuly’s annual income at nearly $180,000, significantly higher than the amount he had reported.
During a separate divorce proceeding in 2022, court documents showed Dukuly reporting only $7,500 in bank assets and claiming that he owned no businesses or real estate. At the time, however, public records showed that he had ownership interests in several group home companies and properties.
Records also show that businesses connected to Dukuly withheld more than $45,000 in taxes from employees’ paychecks but allegedly failed to remit the money to the state, resulting in tax liens against some group home properties.
Dispute over Liberian business
Dukuly’s financial dealings have also become the subject of a separate dispute in Liberia.
Yang Dan, a former business partner, alleges that he transferred more than $300,000 to U.S. bank accounts associated with Golden Touch Health Care and Berkeley Heights Homes. Yang said the money was intended to finance a mineral water bottling business they were developing in Liberia.
Courtesy of Yang Dan
The two men are now involved in a legal dispute over control of the business.
Liberian police previously investigated complaints made by Yang against Dukuly and reportedly found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, characterizing the matter as a business dispute. Dukuly has also filed legal action against Yang, according to the investigation.
Neither Minnesota nor federal authorities have accused Dukuly of Medicaid fraud or other criminal wrongdoing in connection with his group home businesses.
However, the investigation noted that a former director responsible for six group homes connected to Dukuly was stripped of his license after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud at a previous employer.
From Minnesota entrepreneur to Liberian public official
Dukuly, 46, was born in Liberia and experienced the country’s civil wars before immigrating to the United States in his 20s.
After struggling financially during his early years in America, he worked in several jobs, including loan processing and tax preparation, while studying accounting at the University of North Dakota.
His fortunes changed in 2016 when he partnered with Emmanuel Williams to establish Golden Touch Health Care. The company expanded rapidly, followed by several other group home businesses.
By 2024, Dukuly said he wanted to return permanently to Liberia after spending nearly two decades in the United States.
At a ceremony marking his appointment as managing director of the National Port Authority, he spoke about his achievements in America and his desire to contribute to Liberia.
Since taking the government position, Dukuly has also appeared at Liberian political and public events while maintaining interests in businesses connected to Minnesota.
Dukuly declines interview
Dukuly declined an interview request from MPR News and APM Reports.
In a written response, he said he did not believe an interview was the appropriate way to address matters involving his family and legal affairs, adding that public records should speak for themselves regarding the operational and licensing issues.
He also declined to confirm whether he was in Minnesota or Liberia when contacted by reporters. His social media activity, however, indicated that he was participating in activities in Liberia during periods when Minnesota records continued to list him as an assisted living director.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services said the allegations raised by the investigation were “deeply concerning” and acknowledged that an owner of a Medicaid-funded program moving overseas would raise questions for investigators, even if doing so is not expressly prohibited by law.
The Department of Health said it has taken enforcement action against providers linked to Dukuly for violations but has not revoked the license of one of the facilities associated with him.
The investigation has renewed questions about whether Minnesota’s regulatory system is adequately protecting vulnerable residents in group homes and whether operators receiving millions of dollars in public funding are being sufficiently monitored.
For residents and their families, the central issue remains whether the state’s oversight system can identify and address serious problems before vulnerable people pay the price.
