Minnesota
Minnesota fraud scandal: Sixth family member who met with AG Ellison set to plead guilty
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Yet another member of a family within Minnesota’s Somali community is expected to plead guilty Thursday in the massive fraud scandal that has drawn national attention and prompted criticism of Attorney General Keith Ellison over a meeting he held with members of the family in question.
Gandi Mohamed, 45, is expected to either plead guilty at a change of plea hearing scheduled for Thursday or choose to enter a plea of no contest, which would allow him to accept conviction and be sentenced without admitting guilt, according to court records.
Mohamed is the sixth member of his family who would be pleading guilty in the scheme prosecutors say fraudulently claimed to be serving meals while instead pocketing $14 million from the federal child nutrition program, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.
Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Bill Glahn told Fox News Digital that “it’s good that he and his co-conspirators have all been convicted in the case, however, a courtroom trial would have been a useful exercise to show the public the scope and scale of the fraud.”
TOM EMMER CALLS FOR TIM WALZ, KEITH ELLISON TO ‘SERVE JAIL TIME’ IF FRAUD COVERUP ALLEGATIONS ARE TRUE
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison will testify before Congress on March 4. (Mandel Ngan/AFP; Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The Mohamed family was present at the now infamous 2021 meeting between Ellison and members of the Somali community where would-be fraudsters could be heard asking the state’s attorney general to help them secure more funding, before the conversation turned to campaign donations.
“The only way that we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena. Putting our votes where it needs to be. But most importantly, putting our dollars in the right place. And supporting candidates that will fight to protect our interests,” one of the Somali community members says in the recording.
“That’s right,” Ellison responds.
JOSH HAWLEY STANDS BY ACCUSATIONS AFTER FIERY SENATE HEARING CLASH WITH MINNESOTA AG ELLISON
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 4, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The committee held the hearing to examine the alleged misuse of federal funds intended for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Ellison has denied any wrongdoing regarding the recording, saying he was completely unaware of the fraudsters’ crimes at the time of the meeting. The meeting occurred before any convictions in the case and before President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice had indicted anyone.
“I took a meeting in good faith with people I didn’t know and some turned out to have done bad things. I did nothing for them and took nothing from them,” Ellison wrote in an April 2025 op-ed for the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Following that meeting, Gandi gave the maximum $2,500 campaign donation to Ellison that the attorney general returned to the Department of Justice in 2025.
TRUMP ADMIN SCORES MINNESOTA COURT WIN IN MEDICAID FRAUD CRACKDOWN
“Our Attorney General, Keith Ellison, is not only looking the other way but doing so after taking donations from these very fraudsters,” Republican Dalia al-Aqidi who is running for Congress in Minneapolis against Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told Fox News Digital. “This is a betrayal of every Minnesotan who trusted him with that office.”
Al-Aqidi explained that the voters in her district are “furious” about the fraud scandal.
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“Which is why I’ve rolled out a five-point plan to prevent fraud before it starts,” al-Aqidi said. “This isn’t just about taxpayers, it’s about people who really need food and housing. Preventing fraud isn’t complicated, it just takes the political will to stop this type of abuse. It’s clear that this scheme is being used to buy votes, and that has to stop.”
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
Minnesota
Vandals smash car windows in St. Louis Park neighborhood
Neighbors along a three-block stretch in St Louis Park, Minnesota, say vandals smashed car windows early Sunday morning along Quentin Avenue.
A spokesperson for the City of St. Louis Park said officers took 18 reports of vehicle tampering and stolen property around 5 in the morning. The city wouldn’t confirm how many cars were hit, but said the investigation is ongoing.
“I was just pulling out and I had to swerve and avoid all the glass on the street because most cars on this block had their windows smashed,” said Nachshown Fertel.
While Fertel’s car wasn’t damaged, a car parked across the street was smashed across the windshield. Two others were missing windows.
“Obviously, it’s expensive to repair and we don’t know who did it,” Fertel said. “We all have Ring cameras, but since most of them were on the street, only a few people caught glimpses of it.”
Two blocks away, WCCO talked to a man with four damaged cars sitting outside his home. He said all the windows on his family cars were smashed early in the morning, but no one got away with anything valuable. He called the whole ordeal upsetting.
Aharon Harkavy spent part of Sunday cleaning up shattered glass in his driveway. He said neighbors have had issues with stolen cars and some break-ins in the past, but this string of damage felt like an escalation.
“This needs to stop, the police need to really do something about it,” he said.
Back in May, Minneapolis police were investigating a string of break-ins on the southwest side of the city. That followed 30 cars hit by vandals in April over an 8-hour span. Last summer in Minneapolis, there were roughly 475 vehicle break-ins in 30 days between July and August.
Fertel said many of his neighbors in St. Louis Park attend the same synagogue and the community came together to help with repairs.
“I went over to the rabbi and I said, ‘Can we start a fund?’” Fertel explained. “I got a few people to donate. We pulled together some funds to help people pay for the damage.”
Minnesota
Twins 6, Yankees 1: A new morning in Twins Territory
Yesterday, Americans attended barbecues, tore around on jet skis, and partied under fireworks for the country’s 250th birthday. Or, they took their sister’s Goldendoodle on 12 miles worth of walks, then got takeout supper and continued a Star Trek: The Original Series re-watch (& checked in on the Rocky & Twilight Zone marathons). Freedom, and all that.
But as was once said about President Ronald Reagan, it’s a new morning in America. What would the sunrise bring for MN? Well, how about 250 years of Minnesota Twins dominance over the New York Yankees!
After boat-racing the Yanks yesterday, the Twins got off to a fast start in this contest too when New York SP Ryan Weathers’ first offering was slapped into RF by Austin Martin for a double. This was quickly followed by a newly-minted-All-Star Byron Buxton single and it looked like MN would never make an out against NYY again—until Kody Clemens K’d and Buck was caught stealing for the first time since 5/1/24. Ugh. You also won’t hear Buxton’s name again in this recap until the Duds (double ugh).
Fortunately, Josh “Liberty” Bell saved the rally with a ringing (heh, heh) single that NY RF Max Schuemann couldn’t quite reel in. 1-0 MN.
As also-newly-minted-All-Star SP Joe Ryan looked sharp foiling Yankee bats in the early goings, the Twins went back on the attack in T4: a Royce Lewis walk led to his advance to 2B on a wild pitch which led to his coming around to score on a Brooks Lee base knock. 2-0 MN.
Right back on the attack in T5: the Twins loaded the bases with two outs and Lewis didn’t fall into the trap—instead knocking a solid single up the middle to drive two visitors across home plate! 4-0 MN.
Then, some circus baseball in T6: an Anthony Volpe error at shortstop…a horrible Luke Keaschall bunt that someone resulted in a hit…a bases-loaded walk to Martin…a well-struck Clemens sac fly. Boo birds were echoing through Yankee Stadium 3.0. 6-0 MN.
Meanwhile, the reason no Yankee offense has been discussed heretofore is because Ryan continued his Bronx brilliance. New York put a couple runners on base with two outs in B7, but our oh-so-much-more-than-average Joe made Amed Rosario look foolish on a filthy slider for this final line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K.
Andrew Morris hurled a crisp, clean 8th inning, followed by Yoendrys Gomez losing the battle (shutout effort) but winning the war (ballgame) in the 9th.
Your Final: Minnesota Twins 6, New York Yankees 1
The Twins exorcised some demons by winning road series against the Astros & Yankees (the latter of those the first time since 2014). A new morning, indeed! Time for Goldendoodle walk number two on the day—with a smile on my face all the way.
Minnesota
Summer heat and humidity continue in Minnesota with low storm chances midweek
Sunday will feature more sunshine in Minnesota, but it stays hot and humid with highs staying in the mid 80s.
Sunday through Tuesday will be dry. The start of the next workweek will feature slightly humid conditions, and high temperatures will be closer to 90.
There’s also a chance of storms between the middle and end of the coming week.
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