BREAKING: Ilhan Omar and state leadership connected to Minnesota Somalian fraud scheme

Attorney General Keith Ellison, his son Minneapolis Councilman Jeremiah Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and others received contributions from defendants linked to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future and connected food sites, reports the New York Post.

During a December 11, 2021, meeting with Somali business leaders, two of whom were later indicted, Ellison told attendees, “I’m not here because I think it’s going to help my re-election.” Days after the meeting, Ellison’s campaign received $10,000 in donations from businessmen, including Gandi Mohamed, who made a maximum $2,500 contribution before being indicted on federal bribery and fraud charges. Three additional donations of $2,500 tied to Feeding Our Future defendants were accepted the same day.

Omar accepted $7,400 in donations from individuals later convicted in the Feeding Our Future case, the Post reports. Her campaign said the contributions were returned after the scandal surfaced in 2022 and that Omar was not aware of the fraud.

Councilman Jeremiah Ellison received approximately $3,000 in contributions from individuals connected to the scheme, including Ikram Mohamed, the brother of Gandi Mohamed. Jeremiah Ellison, who did not seek re-election, said he returned the money.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey received $9,000 from nine defendants. His former policy aide, Abdi Nur Salah, later pled guilty to wire fraud connected to the case. Frey won re-election against State Sen. Omar Fateh, who also accepted $11,000 from donors later charged in the fraud. Fateh’s campaign said all contributions were returned, including $1,000 from Muna Wais Fudhin.

Shukri Olow, a Seattle-based Democrat who ran for the Washington state House in 2022, received $8,750 from ten individuals later indicted in the Minnesota case. Glahn wrote that this was part of “the deep and recurring connections between the case and the city of Seattle.”

Other Minnesota recipients included State Sen. John Hoffman, who accepted $3,000 and said he returned it, and former State Rep. John Thompson, who received $1,000.

A total of 75 people have been charged so far in the federal investigation, with more than half pleading guilty.

This is a breaking news story. Refresh for updates.