Keith Ellison's meeting with those involved in Feeding Our Future before FBI raids: What really happened

Yahoo

11-04-2025

The Brief
The nearly hour-long recording is an unused defense exhibit from Aimee Bock's federal trial.
A meeting between Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and several future Feeding Our Future defendants took place in December 2021. They ask for his help dealing with alleged racist actions by state agencies.
House Republicans accuse Ellison of soliciting campaign donations. The recording does not support that. Rather, he is repeatedly offered contributions and later receives them, but he never asks and deflects offers by saying this is not about his campaign.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Item number 710 on Aimee Bock's defense exhibit list from her recent federal trial is an audio recording of a meeting with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Bock's defense attorney, Kenneth Udiobok, didn't use it during the trial because no one from Ellison's office testified for the government, therefore it was not relevant. He also didn't think it would do anything to prove Bock's innocence.
But he does think it's important for what he believes it depicts.
"The chief law enforcement officer of the state of Minnesota," said Udoibok, "weeks before the investigation went overt, his expression showed that he did not believe Feeding our Future or Aimee Bock was involved in any fraudulent activity."
The recording doesn't necessarily suggest Ellison didn't believe fraud was occurring. ather, it sounded like he was unaware of any investigation into fraud.
What we know
Udoibok said he got the recording from Aimee Bock, but is not certain who recorded it. He provided a copy to FOX 9.
The recording is a meeting he says took place in December 2021, just one month before the FBI raided Feeding Our Future and related properties and made their investigation public.
The group included several of those who were later found guilty or pled guilty to fraud-related charges. They identified themselves as the Minnesota Minority Business Association.
They begin by complaining that East African businesses are facing racism by state agencies, telling Ellison they "create unnecessary roadblocks and hurdles and at times conduct business in a very racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic manner."
Ellison sympathizes and offers to make some calls, saying that "just getting the question, just getting the inquiry from the AG is sometimes enough to make people knock it off."
But for the first 14 minutes of the meeting, the federal meal program is not mentioned.
What happens next
When the group finally gets around to the federal meal program and Feeding Our Future, Ellison is unclear what they're talking about.
"And for example," one man says, "one of the biggest issues facing in our community is the CACFP and how the Department of Education…"
Ellison interrupts: "Wait a minute, what is that?"
"Child and Adult Care Food Program," he is told.
For more than 20 minutes, they explain the food program, how the USDA funds come through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), down to sponsors and vendors and meal sites.
And they complain that MDE continues to drag their feet on approvals and reimbursements, and they want Ellison's help.
Ellison expresses surprise, despite this being weeks before the FBI investigation becomes public knowledge, which the AG's office is taking part in.
"I'm telling you," Ellison says, "this has not come to my attention until now, really."
Repeatedly throughout the meeting, Ellison is told they want to contribute to his campaign, "putting our dollars in the right place and supporting candidates that fight to protect our interests."
Ellison never asks for money. Rather, he deflects the offers by saying he's meeting with them as AG, not a candidate.
"Of course, I'm here to help," he says. "Let me be clear, I'm not here because I think it's going to help my re-election."
But about a week later, Ellison's campaign did receive several contributions from some of those present.
Ellison later returned contributions from those who were indicted.
What they're saying
In the wake of the recording being made public, Minnesota House Republicans issued a statement, saying "It's disturbing to learn that Attorney General Ellison met with and offered verbal support to criminal defendants at the heart of the largest pandemic fraud scam in the country."
For clarity, the meeting occurred 10 months before any indictments.
When charges did come in September 2022, a news release from Ellison's office said they'd been involved in the investigation for two years.
It also said the FBI had repeatedly asked that the AG and MDE not disclose the existence of the investigation to anyone so as not to tip anyone off.
In a statement to FOX 9, Ellison's office said that he was unaware who he was meeting with:
"AG Ellison was asked to sit down with a friend that day, Imam Mohamed Omar. When the AG arrived, he was surprised to find others present but agreed to meet with them. It is a shame that these fraudsters tried to exploit the Attorney General's good-faith engagement, but they were not successful. Nothing happened as a result of the meeting."