Jamal Osman’s name comes up at the Feeding Our Future trial

The courtroom trial for two Feeding Our Future defendants resumed this morning after a five-day break for the holiday weekend. In testimony today, the name of Minneapolis city council member Jamal Osman (DFL, Ward 6) surfaced for the first time in open court.

Osman, of course, has not been charged with any wrongdoing. The context involves the nonprofit Stigma-Free International, founded by Osman in 2019, The nonprofit was transferred to several Feeding Our Future defendants in October 2020. The defendants later used the nonprofit, allegedly, in furtherance of their fraud scheme. It has never been revealed whether or not any money changed hands in the transference of the nonprofit.

The nonprofit was dissolved in June 2024 by court order.

On trial this month in Federal court are Aimee Bock, Feeding Our Future CEO, and Salim Said, co-owner of the Safari Restaurant, Defendant Nos. 1 and 3 in the overall case.

Star Tribune reporter Deena Winter posted on Twitter (X) regarding this morning’s developments. She noted:

Abdi Salah is Defendant No. 6 in the case and was to have been on trial this month along with his co-defendants. But Salah pled guilty at the last minute to join 39 other defendants to have been convicted in the case.

In the prosecutor’s exhibit list for this trial, Jamal Osman’s name appears four (4) times. Osman is not on the witness list. Stigma-Free isn’t Osman’s only connection to the larger free-feed scandal. Osman’s wife, Ilo Amba, founded her own nonprofit in November 2020, Urban Advantage Services, to participate in the food distribution program.

Deena Winter notes:

Urban Advantage was shut down for good by the state Attorney General, Keith Ellison, in October 2024.

For his part, Osman has refused to answer any questions about his role in the scandal.

The current trial is expected to continue through early next month.