A 54-minute secret recording from a December 11, 2021, closed-door meeting inside Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s official state office is resurfacing amid explosive revelations that 70 Somali community members in Minnesota participated in stealing $250 million in federal COVID child-feeding funds.
On the tape released by American Experiment earlier this year, Ellison sympathizes with, encourages, and ultimately promises assistance to a group of Somali-American business leaders, many of whom would later be charged or convicted in the largest COVID relief fraud scheme in U.S. history.
The fraudulent operation, centered around the notorious nonprofit Feeding Our Future, stole an estimated $250 million in federal child nutrition funds, money intended to feed poor children but instead used to purchase luxury homes, foreign real estate, jewelry, and lavish lifestyles.
The audio reveals Ellison mocking state agency oversight, vowing to “fight” on behalf of the very operators who investigators say were deeply involved in a web of wire fraud, money laundering, and fake meal claims across Minnesota.
Soon after (on December 20, 2021), Keith Ellison’s campaign and that of his son Jeremiah Ellison received campaign donations from individuals linked to Feeding Our Future.