GOP scrutinizes Keith Ellison meeting with Feeding Our Future figures before FBI raids

Minnesota Republicans are scrutinizing a 2021 meeting between Attorney General Keith Ellison and several people connected to the Feeding Our Future case about one month before the federal pandemic fraud case burst into public with FBI raids.

The group, which included several local East African business leaders, told Ellison they were being targeted by state agencies they accused of being racist and discriminatory, according to a nearly hour-long audio recording of the meeting provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune by the attorney of the alleged mastermind of the $250 million fraud. It’s unclear who recorded the meeting.

The attorney, Ken Udoibok, represented Aimee Bock, the former CEO of Feeding Our Future. She was convicted in federal court earlier this year in the case in which prosecutors say people claimed to provide free food to hungry children during the pandemic but spent most of the federal money on luxury cars, vacations and homes. So far, 70 people have been charged in the case; 38 have pleaded guilty and seven have been convicted.

In the meeting, the group promised political and financial support for Ellison, and he expressed sympathy over their allegations of discrimination and told them he would look into it. But, he dismissed their entreaties to help him politically.

Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, last week called the recording “extremely disturbing.”

“Minnesotans just heard their attorney general offering support to individuals who were orchestrating the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme in the nation. This demands additional scrutiny, as [the] attorney general’s duty is to defend state agencies and provide rigorous oversight of Minnesota businesses and charities.”

Ellison says he did nothing wrong.

A spokesperson for the attorney general, Brian Evans, said Ellison vaguely recalls the meeting and didn’t know other people would be there. Evans said he was just listening to constituents’ concerns and “Nothing improper happened whatsoever,” Evans said.

Within the next 10 days, $17,500 was donated to Ellison and his son Jeremiah, a Minneapolis City Council member. Some of the people in the meeting donated to Jeremiah Ellison, and others who were not in the meeting donated to Keith Ellison. Evans said Keith Ellison gave to charity a $2,500 donation from a person who was later indicted in the case.

Jeremiah Ellison said he attempted to return donations and returned about $1,300. As more information came out and more people were indicted, he said, “We may not have caught it all.”

“As far as I know, I don’t believe any of them are constituents or attended any of my campaign events,” Jeremiah Ellison said.

The recording came up during a recent federal court hearing: Lead prosecutor Joe Thompson flagged the recording as significant to defendant Ikram Mohamed’s pending case.

Keith Ellison’s spokesperson said the attorney general was with a friend, Dar Al-Farooq mosque imam Mohamed Omar, at an Edina co-working space on Dec. 11, 2021, when he was asked to meet with some business people.

On the recording, they identified themselves as:

• Ikram Mohamed, a Feeding Our Future consultant, who is charged with numerous counts of wire fraud, bribery and money laundering.

• Salim Said, Bock’s alleged accomplice who was recently found guilty on all counts after a five-week trial.

• Abshir Omar, a Feeding Our Future consultant who had food distribution sites but has not been charged with any crimes.

• The imam, Mohamed Omar, part-owner of Afrique Hospitality Group, which opened an event center that prosecutors say was used to launder federal money. Omar has not been charged with any crime.

The group offered to put money and political muscle behind Keith Ellison if he would be a “true and steadfast partner to fight for basic justice,” as Abshir Omar put it.

Abshir Omar was deputy director of a nonprofit named Tasho that ran six food sites — sponsored by Feeding Our Future — that claimed to serve 4,000 meals per day. He has not been charged with any crimes.

Ellison said he would take their concerns to his staff, state agencies, and perhaps the governor. But he did not ask for money or offer any quid pro quo.

“I’m not here because I think it’s gonna help my re-election,” he told them.

Evans said Ellison didn’t know about past litigation between the Minnesota Department of Education and Feeding Our Future — even though his lawyers had battled Bock in court by that point — and didn’t know people he was meeting with were being investigated by the FBI.

That contradicts Ellison’s previous statements that he and his office were “deeply involved” in holding Feeding Our Future accountable, working closely with the MDE as it relayed concerns to the FBI.

Evans said that after the meeting, Ellison spoke with the assistant attorney general representing the MDE and was briefed on the litigation.

In the 10 days after the meeting, about 20 people made about $17,500 in campaign donations to the Ellisons.

Jeremiah Ellison’s campaign finance report shows he received the maximum $600 donations from:

• Salim Said, who was recently convicted alongside Bock.

• Ikram Mohamed, her husband, Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, and their relative, Samsam Mohamed.

• Ikram’s brother, Gandi Yusuf Mohamed, who is charged with laundering over $1.1 million in federal funds.

• Abdinasir Mahamed Abshir, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

• Abdulkadir Nur Salah, who recently pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

• Ahmed Abdullahi Ghedi, who’s charged with fraudulently creating a site that received $5 million in federal funds.

• Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff, who was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for his role in defrauding the federal government of $47 million.

• Nasro Abshir, whose organization Family First participated in the food program under Feeding Our Future, according to trial exhibits from the Bock trial.

• Khalid Omar, director of the Dar Al-Farooq mosque, which was one of 50 sites statewide where a group of people are charged with falsely claiming they gave out 18.8 million meals.

• Guled Buraale, whose bank records were admitted as evidence in the last Feeding Our Future trial, showing he had a joint account with Safari defendant Ahmed Ghedi.

• Keyf Abdi, whose child care organization participated in the food program.

Keith Ellison’s campaign finance report shows he received maximum $2,500 donations from:

• Jamal Hashi, who was a Feeding Our Future consultant, according to trial exhibits and testimony in the latest trial. Salim Said testified that Hashi was their chef.

• Mahad Hassan of Aflah Tutoring, which got money from Feeding Our Future according to exhibits in Bock’s trial. Aflah bank records were admitted into evidence in the first trial last year. Hassan and Aflah received $146,000 from Afrique Hospitality Group.

• Gandi Yusuf Mohamed, who was charged. Evans said Ellison gave the $2,500 donation to a charity.

• Khalid Omar, the mosque director.

Last week, House Democrats voted to block a Republican move to bring forward a bill that would require more transparency from the Attorney General’s Office by allowing the release of investigative records after a case is closed.

Republicans have pushed legislation that they say will fix a 2022 state Supreme Court interpretation of the state public records law, the Data Practices Act. Republicans say the decision allows the Attorney General’s Office to keep secret how it investigates complaints and how the private sector influences decisions.

Minnesotans for Open Government, which fights to keep government open and transparent, supports the bill. Ellison testified against the bill in committee earlier this year, saying it would interfere with investigations.