Representative Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota, stated Wednesday that Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, knew about fraud being perpetrated by members of Minnesota’s Somali community.
Three individuals — Abdihakim Ali Ahmed, Ahmed Abdullahi Ghedi, and Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim — were recently sentenced to years in prison for their roles in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme that exploited federal child nutrition programs during the pandemic.
Emmer stated on a recent interview, “They charged over 90 people in this. Of those 90 people, 86 of them are Somalis from the Somali community.”
He further added, “They were able to defraud the government through a program created by Ilhan Omar during the pandemic to feed children. The MEALS [Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students] Act was specifically written by her and has been determined by a federal judge to be drafted so that it was susceptible to fraud.”
Emmer continued, “A lot of these people were not only her constituents; they’re her friends. You’ve got videotape of her with some of these fraudsters.”
The representative criticized local media in the Twin Cities for failing to adequately highlight what he described as Omar’s connections to individuals involved in the fraud and noted that federal officials and congressional investigators are continuing their examination.
Emmer remarked, “The U.S. attorney appointed by Donald Trump is taking it to another level in Minnesota. James Comer and his committee have been on this throughout Congress. The DOJ is going to stick with this.”
He also pointed to Omar’s sudden accumulation of wealth, stating, “This is about her sudden accumulation of wealth with her third husband. She was reporting a net worth of up to $30 million. … Suddenly she said she had an accounting error.”
While Emmer expressed that he celebrates all cultures, he emphasized that people should come to the United States to be American.
“If you’re not doing that,” Emmer said, “get the hell out of here.”
