Lawsuit alleges link between councilman's wife, food fraud scheme
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleges that the wife of a Minneapolis city council member took part in a $250 million scheme to defraud federal child nutrition programs.
Ellison filed lawsuits this week seeking to dissolve 23 nonprofits alleged to be connected to Feeding our Future, the organization that federal prosecutors say was at the heart of a conspiracy to steal government funds meant for children in need.
Among the nonprofits he sued is Urban Advantage Services, or UAS, which was incorporated in 2020 by Ilo Amba, the wife of Minneapolis city councilman Jamal Osman.
Neither Osman nor Amba is among the 60 defendants criminally charged. But in the civil suit, Ellison calls UAS a “fraudulent shell company created around the start of the pandemic to perpetuate fraud,” which has “strong ties to other organizations whose officers and directors were indicted.” Osman has not responded to an email seeking comment from MPR News.
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Federal investigators alleged last year that Feeding our Future was the nucleus of a network of shell companies that funneled money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program. Those charged in the criminal case are alleged to have spent the money on cars, luxury goods, jewelry and real estate.
At least 14 people have pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors say the defendants set up phony meal distribution centers where they purported to feed implausibly large numbers of children, then submitted fraudulent attendance lists and reimbursement forms to the government.
Ellison’s lawsuit alleges that UAS participated as one of these meal sites and “virtually overnight” went from having “no assets and activities” to receiving and using hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ellison said that UAS never registered with his office as a charitable organization, never filed articles of incorporation with the Minnesota Secretary of State, “has no apparent legitimate activities or assets,” and “refused to respond” to the attorney general’s investigation.
Osman is running for reelection this year and faces three challengers for his Ward 6 seat.