Keith Ellison faces scrutiny over audio recording with Somali fraudsters
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is facing new scrutiny over a 2021 audio recording of a meeting with members of the Somali community who will soon be convicted of defrauding millions of dollars of taxpayer money.
In the recording obtained by Fox News, the scammers can be heard asking Ellison to help them raise more funds, and the conversation turns to campaign donations.
“The only way we can protect what we have is by inserting ourselves into the political arena. Putting our votes where they belong. But most importantly, putting our dollars in the right place. And supporting candidates who will fight to protect our interests,” one Somali community member said in the recording. he says.
“Correct,” Ellison replied.
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is facing new scrutiny over his ties to convicted fraudsters. (Getty)
Ellison denied any wrongdoing regarding the recording, saying he was completely unaware of the fraudsters’ crimes at the time of the meeting.
“I had a good faith meeting with people I didn’t know, and it turned out some of them had done bad things. I did nothing for them and took nothing from them,” Ellison wrote in an April column for the Minnesota Star Tribune.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Monday, January 5, 2026 in St. He announced at a news conference at the State Capitol in St. Paul that he would not seek reelection. (Minnesota Star Tribune via Jerry Holt/Getty Images)
According to the Center for the American Experiment, Ellison received campaign donations from some convicted fraudsters but later returned those donations after he was convicted.
The recording was first uncovered by Minnesota attorney Kenneth Udoibok, who represented Aimee Bock, one of many people convicted last year in the $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scam. Udoibok argues that state leaders like Ellison and Gov. Tim Walz should also be held accountable.
“I’d like to see someone from the state, I don’t care if it’s the governor, I don’t care what the attorney general is, I don’t care if someone takes responsibility,” he said in an interview on Fox News.
“Mr. Ellison, the department your agency represents has some flaws,” Udoibok continued. “As much as I love Mr. Walz, he has not taken responsibility for his agency. The responsibility falls on him, and in the worst-case scenario, he should have fired the commissioner. He should have fired the director of the food show, someone.”
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Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., plans to ask witnesses at a House Oversight hearing Wednesday about his 2021 registration, according to a source familiar with his plans.
