Who’s who on the Keith Ellison/FOF tape
For those following along at home, we break down the key players caught on the leaked audio recording of state Attorney General Keith Ellison’s meeting with figures linked to the Feeding Our Future case.
You may have listened to all or part of the December 11, 2021, recording. Before we get into naming names, please note that only those appearing in bold have been indicted in the free-food fraud: all others mentioned have NOT been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
In this scandal-within-a-scandal, there are three politicians involved: AG Keith Ellison, Jeremiah Ellison, Minneapolis city council member (Ward 5) and Keith’s son, and state Sen. Omar Fateh, also representing a Minneapolis district.
The first voice heard (0:01) on the recording is that of Salim Said, Defendant No. 3 in the case and the co-owner of Safari Restaurant of south Minneapolis. Said was convicted of all 21 felony counts he faced in the recently completed courtroom trial. Said was a campaign donor to both J. Ellison and Fateh. Said is currently in federal custody, awaiting sentencing in his case.
The next voice heard (0:20) is Ikram Mohamed a former employee/consultant to Feeding Our Future and a childcare business operator. Ikram is Defendant No. 63 and is scheduled for trial in December. She donated to J. Ellison and Fateh, as did her husband Shakur (Defendant No. 67). Ikram’s brother Gandi Mohamed (Defendant No. 69) donated to both Ellisons. Gandi’s spouse also donated to J. Ellison.
Keith Ellison’s voice is first heard at 1:22. Meeting introductions begin at 1:29 and are conducted by Abshir Omar, a former consultant for Feeding Our Future and also associated with the nonprofit Tasho. Abshir is profiled in this MN Reformer piece from October 2022. Abshir donated to both J. Ellison and Fateh.
Introduced at 1:29 and at 1:57 is Nasro Abshir, a donor to J. Ellison’s campaign. Nasro participated in the free food program under Feeding Our Future as a food distributor.
One person not introduced is the meeting’s organizer, Imam Mohamed Omar, a personal friend of Keith Ellison’s and the Executive Director of the Al Jazari Institute and the related Dar Al-Farooq mosque of Bloomington, MN. Mohamed also goes by the nickname Sheikh Arab, as depicted in this November 2, 2021, selfie taken by Keith Ellison.
Abshir Omar is the gentleman standing at the far right, with Mohamed Omar in the middle of the frame. Mohamed donated to J. Ellison, who is standing next to his father, above, who is on the far left.
I believe that is Mohamed’s voice heard at the 2:02 mark. At 2:10 he mentions the name of the left-wing political nonprofit ISAIAH. On the most recent (2023) tax return filed by ISAIAH’s 501(c)(4) dark money affiliate Faith in Minnesota, Mohamed Omar appears as the nonprofit’s board president. He is also listed as holding that same position in 2022.
In 2022, Faith in Minnesota’s campaign finance arm (Faith in Minnesota Fund) reports spending more than $130,000 in independent expenditures supporting Keith Ellison’s re-election effort. A separate entity, Faith in Minnesota Action, reports spending an additional $26,000 on behalf of the attorney general in 2022.
Mohamed/Arab’s name came up in the first Feeding Our Future trial conducted in the spring of 2024. Mohamed’s name was mentioned nine times in the official trial exhibit list. Mohamed’s name (“Mohamed Omar/Arab”) came up in open court during the trial, as it appears nine times in what was marked as government Exhibit H-51i. The exhibit is a series of WhatsApp text messages exchanged between two of the defendants in that trial.
Another name appearing in the Exhibit H-51i text string is Mukhtar Shariff and his corporate entity Afrique, located at 1701 American Blvd. in Bloomington. Shariff is Defendant No. 21, was convicted in the 2024 trial, and was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. Shariff donated to J. Ellison.
Both Mohamed and Shariff’s names appear on a permit application submitted to the City of Bloomington on behalf of Afrique.
MN Reformer has also reported that a Dar Al-Farooq board member, Khalid Omar, testified in Shariff’s defense at the first Feeding Our Future trial. In addition to his connection to the mosque, Khalid is also a former staffer of ISAIAH. Khalid donated to the campaigns of both Ellisons. Khalid’s name appears once on the exhibit list for the 2024 Feeding Our Future trial, as the recipient of an email from Mahad Ibrahim, Defendant No. 17, and copied to Shariff and Mohamed Omar (Exhibit C-333).
At the 17:35 mark, Keith Ellison recognizes the name “Safari Restaurant” and makes the connection between Safari and Salim Said.
At the 28:36 mark, after another reference to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Ellison can be heard saying, “I’ve heard that name.”
Those were the principals involved in the meeting. Others were introduced and can be heard offering their thoughts during the 55-minute recording.
In a new development, Deena Winter of the Minnesota Star Tribune published a piece on the leaked recording controversy. She names all the Ellison donors linked to the Feeding Our Future scandal. Winter adds one name not previously linked to Keith Ellison,
Ali’s free-food nonprofit, Youth Leadership Academy, d/b/a Gar Gaar Family Services, was at one time the third-largest participating nonprofit. Ali donated the maximum $2,500 to Ellison on 10/14/2021. Ali also donated to Ellison in 2023 and 2024. Ali donated to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in 2022 and 2024.
Developing…