Despite promises, MN Dems kept some of their fraud-linked Somali donations

(The Center Square) – In an attempt to distance themselves from the Feeding Our Future fraud, Minnesota politicians vowed to return their tainted donations, but an investigation by The Center Square found that some did not follow through with their promises.

Others, including the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison — the state’s top law-enforcement official — and several lawmakers and candidates who failed to win office, took a significant amount of time to return the money or refused to provide documentation that the money was returned or donated elsewhere.

The returned donations, which were all to Democrats, were mostly tied to an initial wave of indictments for the fraud scheme in September 2022. Since then, the number of people accused of stealing about $300 million of federal aid money has nearly doubled.

State Sen. John Hoffman, who received eight questionable donations that totaled about $3,300, sent all of the money to the U.S. Marshals Service because t...