Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison has weighed in on the massive COVID-19 fraud scheme that originated from a Minnesota nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, suggesting it was "isolated." In a recent interview with MS NOW host Jackie Alemany, Ellison argued that President Donald Trump often uses such instances to generalize about certain communities.
The investigation into Feeding Our Future revealed that nearly 75 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, which defrauded federal child-nutrition programs for hundreds of millions of dollars. While Ellison acknowledged that his office contributed evidence and information to advance the prosecution, he emphasized that the office cannot use incidents like this to score a political point.
Ellison's comments come as President Trump has made repeated attacks against the Somali community in Minnesota, labeling them "garbage" amid the ongoing fraud revelations. The New York Times published a report last month detailing how fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota's Somali diaspora over the past five years, with scores of individuals making small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars' worth of social services that were never provided.
The issue has landed Gov. Tim Walz and other state Democrats in hot water as they've sought to explain how such a scheme happened "on their watch." However, Ellison's assertion that the Feeding Our Future scheme was isolated has been disputed by some who point out that the fraud was widespread within the Somali community.
The investigation into Feeding Our Future revealed that nearly 75 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, which defrauded federal child-nutrition programs for hundreds of millions of dollars. While Ellison acknowledged that his office contributed evidence and information to advance the prosecution, he emphasized that the office cannot use incidents like this to score a political point.
Ellison's comments come as President Trump has made repeated attacks against the Somali community in Minnesota, labeling them "garbage" amid the ongoing fraud revelations. The New York Times published a report last month detailing how fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota's Somali diaspora over the past five years, with scores of individuals making small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars' worth of social services that were never provided.
The issue has landed Gov. Tim Walz and other state Democrats in hot water as they've sought to explain how such a scheme happened "on their watch." However, Ellison's assertion that the Feeding Our Future scheme was isolated has been disputed by some who point out that the fraud was widespread within the Somali community.
President Trump is low-key trying to stir up drama and paint an entire community with a broad brush 
. like, come on, 75 ppl charged? that's not isolated, fam! 
I mean, if Gov Tim Walz & Dem lawmakers can't even get their act together to prevent this kinda thing, then what's the point of having a state AG in the first place? 
That's not "isolated" at all! It's a huge problem that needs to be addressed, and Ellison is just trying to sweep it under the rug by saying it was an isolated incident. Newsflash: just because you're from Minnesota doesn't mean you can't get caught up in something shady! And let's not forget, Trump has been using these kinds of incidents to fuel his anti-Somali rhetoric - that's just plain racist 
. And what about the Governor and the state Democrats? They need to be held accountable for their role in allowing this to happen... I'm calling BS on Ellison's assertion right now 
, can you believe how crazy this COVID-19 fraud scheme is? Like, hundreds of millions of dollars just vanished from federal child-nutrition programs... it's wild! 
, but at least AG Keith Ellison is trying to keep things fair by saying it was isolated... Interesting 
and btw can we talk about how Trump always tries to tie stuff back to specific communities? it's just so...
. I've seen plenty of reports saying it involved a lot of people from the Somali community, and some are even accusing him of whitewashing it. I mean, if he's gonna say that, shouldn't he at least acknowledge the role of certain groups? 
75 ppl charged with fraud, that's some wild numbers... if it was isolated, how did it happen in the first place? shouldn't we be looking at how it happened instead of just saying it was isolated 
gotta wonder how many more of these scams get covered up before someone gets held accountable 
. it's not about pinpointin' one group, it's about identifyin' the systemic issues that let these kinds of schemes thrive 
. The fact that it involved a nonprofit (Feeding Our Future) and targeted federal child-nutrition programs raises some serious red flags.
. They should've been doing more to prevent something like this from happening in the first place. Anyway, I think we need a bit more transparency here 
. Can't just sweep it under the rug and say "it's isolated" when it feels like a much bigger problem 
The Democrats are getting roasted for this one and it's gonna be a long, hard road for them to explain how it happened under their watch.
... but you know what? I think it's awesome that AG Keith Ellison is keeping it real and not jumping into politics here. like, he's talking about how these incidents can get blown out of proportion by people who don't understand the community, you feel? 
. I also don’t get why we’re still talking about this stuff, shouldn’t everyone have been held accountable by now? 
what happened to those funds? how did they get away with it for so long? and isn't it wild that the governor is getting heat from his own party for not stopping this sooner?