The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee has set a May 5 deadline for Rep. Ilhan Omar to provide records and communications related to her potential involvement in the Feeding Our Future investigation.
The request follows Omar’s absence from a scheduled committee hearing earlier in the week, despite receiving a formal invitation. Committee Chair Kristin Robbins, a Republican, said the congresswoman did not attend the hearing and did not respond to multiple outreach attempts from the panel.
“The fact that she ghosted us — she would not even respond to multiple inquiries to a state legislature where she used to serve,” Robbins said, according to NewsNation. “I think it shows disdain for Minnesota taxpayers that she’s unwilling to even answer these questions.”
Robbins sent a formal letter to Omar last week demanding:
– All written and electronic communications between Omar’s office and the convicted owners/operators of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis (a key Feeding Our Future site where Omar held multiple campaign events).
– Communications with more than a dozen individuals who have already been convicted in the massive fraud case.
– Records related to Omar’s sponsorship of the MEALS Act — the 2020 federal legislation that dramatically loosened eligibility rules for child nutrition
The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee said it may consider additional steps if Rep. Ilhan Omar does not comply with the request, though state lawmakers have limited authority to compel action from a sitting member of Congress.
The investigation is tied to the Feeding Our Future case, which federal prosecutors say involved more than $250 million in misused child nutrition funds intended to provide meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authorities have described the case as one of the largest fraud schemes of its kind in the United States.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that large portions of the funds in the Feeding Our Future case were diverted to personal expenses, including luxury goods, real estate, and overseas accounts, with many transactions routed through nonprofit organizations based in Minnesota.
Authorities identified Safari Restaurant as one of several sites that submitted substantial reimbursement claims under the program. Omar has had past public interactions with the restaurant, including campaign-related events and appearances tied to community programs, reports said.
The Minnesota House panel has raised questions about Omar’s legislative role, including her support for the MEALS Act. Critics of the law argue it reduced certain oversight measures, while supporters have said it was intended to expand access to food assistance during the pandemic.
“She created the conditions that allowed all these bad actors to come in and bill for thousands of meals a day,” Robbins said. “One little tiny restaurant serving 5,000 meals a day, seven days a week — it was incomprehensible numbers.”
“The American people and certainly the taxpayers of Minnesota deserve her to come and answer these questions,” Robbins added. “If she had nothing to do with it, if she had no ill intent, if she had no idea — she should come and defend that.”
Another member of a Minnesota family tied to the burgeoning federal fraud cases was expected to plead guilty two weeks ago, according to court records and reporting, amid new calls to deport Omar over claims she committed marriage fraud to enter the U.S. years ago.
Gandi Mohamed, 45, entered a plea at a hearing earlier this month, where he was set to plead guilty or no contest in connection with the scheme, Fox9 Minneapolis reported.
Prosecutors allege the family fraudulently claimed to provide meals through a federal child nutrition program while diverting approximately $14 million for personal use. Authorities say Mohamed is the sixth member of his family to face conviction in the case.