Walz Ends Re-Election Bid As Omar Embroiled In Somali-Based Fraud Allegations
The Trump administration is pointing to widespread fraud allegations as justification for expanding federal law enforcement activity in Minnesota, where authorities say massive abuse of government programs has flourished for years under weak oversight and political protection.
Federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, have alleged systemic fraud involving Somali-owned child care centers across the state. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States, and most of the roughly 70 defendants charged in the sweeping investigation are of Somali descent.
The growing scandal has also intensified political fallout at the state level. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday that he will not seek re-election amid mounting criticism, according to CNN. Walz later confirmed his decision in a post on X, writing that he had “decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.”
At the center of the investigation is Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit that prosecutors say falsely claimed to provide meals to needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic while siphoning off hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Beginning in 2022, federal authorities charged dozens of individuals connected to the organization, most of them of Somali origin.
In March, a federal jury convicted Feeding Our Future founder and executive director Aimee Bock and Salim Said for their roles in a staggering $250 million fraud scheme tied to a federally funded children’s nutrition program. Said was a co-owner of a local restaurant that supplied meals under the program.
Prosecutors said Bock and Said used proceeds from the scheme to finance luxury lifestyles, including real estate purchases, high-end vehicles, and international travel.
Bock, who is not Somali, was previously targeted in federal raids on her home and offices and was convicted on seven federal counts, including bribery. She has not yet been sentenced. Said, who is also awaiting sentencing, was convicted on 20 federal charges, including bribery and money laundering. Both face potential sentences of up to 30 years in prison, according to a CNN affiliate.
As fraud investigations expand, additional scrutiny has fallen on financial disclosures tied to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., whose congressional district overlaps with many of the alleged schemes. According to congressional filings, two companies owned by Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, experienced explosive growth in reported value in recent years—rising more than twentyfold in less than a year.
Financial disclosures show a dramatic increase in the reported value of Mynett’s business holdings since 2020, Fox News reported.
In her 2024 congressional financial disclosure, Omar reported that Rose Lake Capital LLC—a firm co-founded by Mynett—was worth between $5 million and $25 million. Just one year earlier, in her 2023 filing, the company was listed in the lowest reporting category, between $1 and $1,000. While disclosure forms require broad valuation ranges, even the most conservative interpretation reflects an extraordinary jump.
Rose Lake Capital’s website describes the firm as operating in deal-making, mergers and acquisitions, banking, politics, and diplomacy. The company previously listed several high-profile figures among its personnel, including Adam Ereli, a lobbyist and former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain under the Obama administration. Archived versions of the site also referenced former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., along with former Democratic National Committee officials William Derrough and Alex Hoffman.
Mynett, Omar’s third husband, co-founded Rose Lake Capital in 2022.
As public scrutiny intensified—amid massive fraud prosecutions in Minnesota and questions over whether politically connected figures may have benefited indirectly—the firm quietly removed the names and biographies of its team members from its website. It remains unclear whether any of the previously listed individuals are still affiliated with the company.
Another business linked to Omar’s disclosures, ESTCRU LLC, also reported a sharp increase in valuation. The winery, registered in Santa Rosa, was listed as being worth between $1 million and $5 million in Omar’s 2024 filing, up from an estimated $15,000 to $50,000 the year prior.
The rapid rise in wealth tied to Omar’s household comes as state and federal investigators continue unraveling what prosecutors describe as vast fraud networks in Minnesota—many operating through Somali-run nonprofits in areas long dominated by Democratic leadership.
The Trump administration has argued that the crackdown is long overdue, saying aggressive enforcement is necessary to protect taxpayers, restore accountability, and dismantle entrenched corruption enabled by years of political neglect.