In Minneapolis, the story isn’t just about stolen taxpayer dollars; it’s about a mayor whose wife worked for the very lobbying firm that shielded the fraudsters, whose campaign coffers swelled with donations from indicted players, and whose appointees ended up in federal crosshairs. With the Trump administration now in power and calls for accountability echoing from Washington, it’s time to pull back the curtain on Frey’s entanglements. Let’s follow the money, the relationships, and the timeline.
The Feeding Our Future Scandal: A Primer on the Heist
Feeding Our Future was a Minnesota nonprofit founded in 2016 by Aimee Bock, ostensibly to distribute meals to children in need through federal child nutrition programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). During the COVID-19 pandemic, when oversight was relaxed to expedite aid, the organization exploded in size. By 2021, it claimed to be serving millions of meals at hundreds of sites across the state. But federal investigators allege it was all a sham: fake meal counts, shell companies, kickbacks, and money laundering on a massive scale.
The FBI raids in January 2022 kicked off what would become a sprawling investigation, leading to charges against over 70 individuals, many from Minnesota’s Somali-American community, which has been disproportionately implicated in this and related frauds like daycare and autism services scams. Prosecutors say the scheme defrauded the government of at least $250 million, with funds diverted to personal luxuries and even wired overseas. To date, dozens have pleaded guilty or been convicted, including key figures who funneled money through restaurants, nonprofits, and bogus vendors.
But Feeding Our Future didn’t operate in a vacuum. It relied on legal and lobbying muscle to fend off early scrutiny from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), which flagged suspicious growth as early as 2020 and began denying site applications. Enter Hylden Advocacy & Law, a powerhouse Minneapolis firm known for its cozy ties to Democratic leaders, including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Sarah Clarke: The Mayor’s Wife at the Center of the Storm
Mayor Jacob Frey’s wife, Sarah Clarke (also known as Sarah Stephens Frey), was no peripheral player. Until January 2022, the exact month of the FBI raids, Clarke served as a lobbyist and government liaison at Hylden Advocacy & Law. The firm, led by Nancy Hylden, provided legal representation and lobbying services to Feeding Our Future, appearing in court alongside Bock and helping the nonprofit navigate regulatory hurdles. Hylden’s tagline? “Your friend at the Capitol.” And friends they were: the firm was listed in Feeding Our Future’s annual reports to the Minnesota Attorney General as far back as 2019.
Clarke’s abrupt departure from the firm coincided precisely with the federal crackdown, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions. Was it coincidence, or did insider knowledge from City Hall or federal connections prompt her exit? Frey has denied any awareness of the fraud, and no charges have been filed against Clarke, Hylden, or the mayor himself. But critics point to Frey’s reported friendship with U.S. Attorney Andy Luger, who oversaw the indictments, as a potential shield. In a city where politics is personal, such relationships demand scrutiny.
Hylden’s reach extends further. The firm also lobbied for the Somali Museum of Minnesota, founded by Osman Ali in 2011. Ali pleaded guilty to fraud in a separate case, yet the museum received $4.5 million in state funding just months later. This isn’t isolated; Minnesota’s Somali community has been at the epicenter of multiple fraud schemes, including a $104 million housing scam, $399 million in autism fraud, and billions in remittances to Somalia. Hylden’s involvement in these orbits raises red flags about how lobbying dollars influence public funds.
Campaign Cash: Donations from the Indicted
Frey’s 2021 mayoral reelection campaign tells another damning story. At least eight individuals named in the Feeding Our Future indictments donated the maximum allowable $1,000 each to his war chest. These weren’t small-time donors; they included key players in the scheme, such as those tied to Safari Restaurant, a south Minneapolis spot accused of being a fraud conduit. In a race where Frey faced progressive challengers pushing for police reform post-George Floyd, these contributions helped secure his victory.
This isn’t mere coincidence. Frey’s campaign finance records, as reported by outlets like MPR News, show a pattern of support from figures later ensnared in the probe. While legal, the optics are toxic: a mayor accepting max donations from fraud suspects whose organizations his wife’s firm represented. In any accountable system, this would trigger ethics investigations. Yet, in Minneapolis, it barely made headlines until citizen journalists and social media amplified it.
The Appointees: Frey’s Inner Circle Indicted
The connections deepen with Frey’s City Hall picks. Three of his appointees faced federal indictments in the scandal:
- Abdi Nur Salah: A former senior policy aide to Frey, Salah was fired in March 2022 after the mayor learned of his involvement. Salah, who rose through the ranks from a council member’s staffer, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2024, admitting to stealing $3.4 million. Frey is even on the witness list for related trials.
- Sharmarke Issa: Appointed by Frey to chair the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority in 2019 and reappointed in 2021, Issa pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2024 for his role in the scheme. As housing chair, he had oversight over public funds—funds that intersected with the fraud’s tentacles.
- Abdikadir Ainanshe Mohamud: Placed on the newly created Minneapolis Community Safety Workgroup, Mohamud was indicted alongside others in 2022.
These aren’t low-level hires; they’re strategic appointments in housing, policy, and public safety—areas ripe for influence peddling. Frey’s office claims he acted swiftly upon learning of issues, but how did these individuals slip through vetting? And why did his administration continue business as usual amid red flags?
Recent Fireworks: Frey’s Defiance and the Broader Context
Fast-forward to January 2026. With Donald Trump back in the White House, federal scrutiny on Minnesota’s fraud epidemics has intensified. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna referred Governor Walz and AG Ellison for potential complicity. Amid this, Frey posted a viral video telling ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis,” stoking tensions over immigration enforcement, particularly relevant given the Somali community’s role in the scandals.
Conservative voices like Matt Walsh and Elon Musk have piled on, with Walsh calling Frey a “vile parasite” for allegedly inciting unrest, and Musk quipping about his marriage. But this isn’t just rhetoric; it’s tied to real harm. Somali-owned businesses in Minneapolis report harassment and threats post-scandal, highlighting the human cost of unchecked fraud. Yet, Frey’s protective stance raises eyebrows: Is it genuine advocacy, or self-preservation given his wife’s past employer and his appointees’ fates?
Broader probes reveal a “Somali fraud industrial complex” in Minnesota, stealing millions from Medicaid, daycare, and more. A viral YouTube video on “Somali daycares” sparked federal investigations, exposing how parents faked drop-offs for subsidies. Osman Ali’s museum, despite his guilty plea, got millions, lobbied by Hylden.
Time for Accountability: What Happens Next?
The Feeding Our Future scandal didn’t just steal money. It exposed rot so deep it should qualify as city infrastructure. And Minneapolis can’t “heal” until it stops pretending this was just some bad apples in a few nonprofits and restaurants who magically found $250 million and tripped into it.
No. This didn’t run through kitchens.
It ran through politics.
It ran through boardrooms, donor lists, lobbying firms, smiling photo ops, and the same “community leaders” who always seem to be standing closest to the money when it disappears.
And it was protected long enough to become a quarter billion dollar monument to government failure a taxpayer funded statue honoring negligence, corruption, and selective blindness.
So yes. It’s time to see heads rolling. Not another task force. Not another press conference where everyone looks concerned while nothing changes.
Heads. Rolling.
