The Minnesota Attorney General – Keith Ellison – has been caught on audio tape agreeing to not prosecute Somalians for their crimes, in exchange for campaign donations that he later accepted (allegedly)
(Fast Fact: Ellison converted to Islam while in college and has been a practicing M*slim since the late 1980s)
Minnesota Rep Harry Niska Recently released the tapes revealing conversations that happened between AG Ellison and Somali migrants (M*slim) who were later charged and convicted in the feeding our future scandal.
In the audio recordings from a December 2021 closed-door meeting you can hear Ellison promising not to charge Somali-migrant business leaders implicated in the massive $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, just weeks before federal raids exposed the scheme.
During the session, Ellison and the Somali migrants openly talked about the campaign contributions, which Ellison accepted shortly after—fueling demands for a full investigation into potential ethical lapses at the state’s top law enforcement office.
The 54-minute recording, captures Ellison in his official St. Paul office assuring the group that he would intervene against state agencies that conduct “discriminatory audits” on their nonprofits and meal sites (the same nonprofits and meal site defrauding the state welfare programs)****
“Of course, I’m here to help”
“Let’s go fight these people.”
People in the meeting, including convicted defendant Salim Said and charged consultant Ikram Mohamed, repeatedly brag about their fundraising clout, offering to back “elected officials that are interested in protecting communities of color.”
Rep. Niska blasted the exchange calling it “disturbing” that Ellison
“met with and offered support to criminal defendants at the heart of the largest pandemic fraud scam in the country.”
Niska highlighted how contributions were “offered” in the meeting “which he later accepted”
***Niska is demanding that Ellison release all related documents and explain why he promised to protect criminals without informing the office’s ongoing investigation of the nonprofit.****
“The Attorney General must… explain to the public why he felt it was necessary or appropriate to meet with them, let alone offer the support of his office,” Niska said.
Nine days later, on December 20, 2021, Ellison’s campaign accepted four donations totaling $10,000—four times Minnesota’s individual limit of $2,500 per election cycle.
Key contributors included:
Gandi Mohamed, Ikram’s brother and Feeding Our Future Defendant No. 69, who is being charged with wire fraud and money laundering
Jamal Hashi, whose name surfaced in related federal trials as connected to the schemes
An unnamed donor whose voice appears on the tape, also connected to the schemes
Another individual mentioned in court proceedings tied to the scandal.
That same day, Ellison’s son, Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison (D-Ward 5), received contributions from Gandi Mohamed, Hashi, Said, Ikram Mohamed, her husband, Gandi’s wife, and four other Somali migrants who were charged in the scheme.
Campaign records show these funds were being deposited into the campaign at the same time the group was fighting against frozen reimbursements from the federal child nutrition program.
Thos funds were frozen because of the massive fraud being committed by Feeding Our Future that was billing for nonexistent meals to low-income kids.
Ellison’s public timeline clashes sharply with the private tape.
In September 2022, after FBI raids, he claimed his office had been “deeply involved for two years” in investigating the group—dating back to September 2020.
However, on the recording, he was surprised on two occasions about the fraud accusations
“This is the first I’m really hearing about it” and
“This has not come to my attention until now.”
Critics, including former senior AG officials, say his office intentionally dragged its feet, launching a formal investigation in February 2022, two months after the meeting.
Saying that he had at his disposal tools to seize bank records that could have uncovered $3.2 million in laundered funds and over half a million in bribes by early 2021.
The Feeding Our Future case is the largest COVID-era fraud in U.S. history.
More than 70 Somali migrants have been charged since 2022, with 37 guilty pleas, and seven trial convictions—including Said and ringleader Aimee Bock— as of March 2025.
Prosecutors say the scam stole taxpayer dollars meant for hungry children and spent the money on luxury cars, overseas properties, and even sent money back to the t*rror group Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
During testimony before the GOP-led House Fraud Prevention Committee, Ellison denied soliciting funds or knowing of his staff’s parallel investigation, but couldn’t immediately confirm all donor links.
