Ethics concerns raised after socialist Minneapolis mayoral hopeful Omar Fateh brings housing legislation that could benefit wife's business

Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh has been accused of pushing legislation to fast-track approvals for the state's Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program, at a time when his wife, Kaltum Mohamed, was listed as an owner of a housing stabilization company.

The HSS program is a taxpayer-funded Medicaid initiative designed to assist elderly and disabled individuals in securing and maintaining housing. The revelation has resulted in concerns about a conflict of interest and potential ethics violations for Fateh, who is running as a socialist for Minneapolis mayor.

According to a KARE 11 investigation, Fateh put forward Senate File 2741 on March 24, a bill geared at expediting people's access to HSS approval. If passed, the bill would have transferred jurisdiction for the approval of housing stabilization assistance for people with disability waivers from DHS personnel to waiver case managers in counties.

At the time, Fateh told fellow committee members during a March 2025 hearing that the bill would "address a critical delay in access to Housing Stabilization Services, also known as HSS," adding that, "HSS is a lifeline."

Fateh argued that the delays were "putting people at risk of eviction, extended homelessness and service lapses." 

The push to fast-track occurred shortly after an investigation revealed rampant fraud in the HSS program, including Medicaid billing for services never given and clients being signed up without their permission, according to the network. While KARE 11 discovered that Fateh's wife, Kaltum Mohamed, did not get Medicaid payments, a legal expert believes the lack of transparency creates ethical issues.

"It raises lots of red flags," said Hamline University and University of St. Thomas political science professor David Schultz, speaking on Mohamed's company, Community Development Services LLC, which is an active HHS company that solicits clients and referrals.

"This is a situation where I think almost anybody schooled in, I don't know, Government Ethics 101 would know that you can't introduce legislation that benefits yourself," said Schultz, according to KARE 11.

Fateh's campaign staff said that his wife no longer owned the company when he introduced the legislation. However, records filed with DHS on May 5 show that Mohamed transferred ownership of the company to a business partner, meaning that she was the owner when the legislation was introduced.

Fateh's campaign said in a statement about the matter: "Constituents came to me with this bill, which would have empowered counties to actually meet people where they are, with direct, one-on-one in-person support and real oversight. That means more people housed, and county staff empowered to catch the fraudsters and bad actors earlier, which DHS has proven unable to do."