Old radio interview haunts Keith Ellison

An October 2023 interview clip with state Attorney General Keith Ellison on WCCO radio resurfaces in the midst of a new Feeding Our Future scandal. The clip raises new questions about Ellison’s conduct in the case.

This 1-minute, 13-second audio clip was taken from a longer interview conducted by Jason DeRusha of WCCO radio on his DriveTime program. The interview was aired on October 24, 2023.

In the week before the interview aired (October 18, 2023), Keith Ellison’s office had filed civil lawsuits against 23 nonprofits associated with the Feeding Our Future scandal. Included on the list was Urban Advantage Services, a free-food nonprofit begun by Ilo Amba, the wife of Minneapolis city council member Jamal Osman (Ward 6). From page 1 of the lawsuit:

By January 2022, Osman’s role was well known in creating another nonprofit, Stigma-Free International, that he had transferred (in late 2020) to a group of individuals that were later indicted and convicted of fraud in the case.

The October 2023 WCCO radio interview occurred exactly two weeks before the Minneapolis municipal elections, where Osman (Ward 6) and Ellison’s son Jeremiah (Ward 5) were running for re-election.

At the 0:10 mark of the audio above, DeRusha asks Ellison if he stands by his political endorsement of Osman. At 0:17 Ellison responds “Yes.” At 0:24, Ellison adds that he won’t engage in “guilt by association.”

At 0:30, DeRusha presses the matter, reminding Ellison of the “family members” reference in the AG’s court filing. At 0:56 DeRusha asks Ellison if he will campaign on behalf of Osman.

Naturally, Ilo Amba was a max $600 donor to her husband’s 2021 re-election campaign.

All of this is worth revisiting in light of more recent events. In October 2024, the AG’s office settled their lawsuit against Urban Advantage. KARE-11 TV reported in February 2025:

Public records show Amba’s nonprofit Urban Advantage Services received $460,000 in reimbursements between Feb. and Nov. 2021, claiming to serve meals out of a small downtown office. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office later shut it down, calling it a “fraudulent shell company.”

Despite the dollar amount involved, the AG’s office sought no monetary penalty against Urban Advantage. All that was accomplished by the lawsuit was to dissolve a long-dormant corporate entity.

Osman has problems of his own with old recordings coming to light. During the Aimee Bock trial an old video resurfaced where Osman brags about his interventions on Bock’s behalf with the state Department of Education (MDE), Ellison’s legal client.

In the 2025 courtroom trial against Feeding Our Future CEO Aimee Bock, Osman’s role in the scheme was discussed extensively. From the Minnesota Star Tribune:

Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman entangled in fraud trial:
An investigator said Osman operated the nonprofit Stigma-Free as a “shell company” until it was turned over to a former aide to Mayor Jacob Frey.

Also coming to light during the Aimee Bock trial was the now infamous 55-minute recording of a December 2021 meeting between Ellison and individuals linked to Feeding Our Future.

In the December 2021 meeting, Ellison appears to have pledged his support to the fraudsters against the interests of his client, MDE.

On Tuesday of this week, DeRusha himself took up the subject of the Ellison/Feeding Our Future audio recording and declared the whole thing to be “not a scandal” and “nothing.” Listen here beginning at the 36:27 mark.

DeRusha goes on for several minutes apologizing for Ellison’s nonfeasance in the Feeding case.

Other than Bock, no one mentioned in this post has been accused of any wrongdoing in the Feeding Our Future case.

We report, you decide.