(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Embattled Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison returned thousands of dollars in donations from five individuals tied to the state’s sprawling COVID-19 meal fraud scheme.
Ellison, who told Congress under oath in February that he had not accepted the funds, later refunded the contributions through his 2028 re-election campaign, according to a filing with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.
The refunds totaled $12,500, as reported Wednesday by the nonprofit American Experiment, which has closely tracked the scandal.
🚨Minnesota fraud watch update: Ellison returns fraud-linked donations
"The re-election campaign for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has now returned $12,500 in campaign donations made by five (5) men associated with the infamous Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. The… pic.twitter.com/tj0M8rUl72
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 26, 2026
The donors had met with Ellison to complain about state regulators withholding taxpayer-funded reimbursements meant for businesses providing pandemic meals to those in need.
Federal investigators later revealed through multiple grand jury indictments that some of those meals were never actually served.
One returned donation — $2,500 — came from Gandi Yusuf Mohamed on Dec. 20, 2021, just one week after his sister, Ikram Yusuf Mohamed, met with Ellison.
Ellison refunded that donation in May 2025, around the time audio from the meeting with Ikram Mohamed surfaced.
Ikram Yusuf Mohamed pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme in March, while Gandi Yusuf Mohamed is scheduled to stand trial next month.
The refunds came after Ellison insisted to Sen. Josh Hawley during a tense hearing that he had not accepted any money tied to the fraud.
