By Phillip Parrish, Candidate for Governor of Minnesota 2026
For over 21 years as an intelligence officer, I tracked money trails that led to corruption, compromise, and outright betrayal. What I witnessed in Minnesota’s remittance and fraud scandals wasn’t incompetence—it was calculated. A core cabal of insiders knew exactly what they were building: a pipeline for siphoning taxpayer dollars into criminal hands, all while hard-working Minnesotans footed the bill. They roped in compromised players to keep the grift going, and now it’s time to call it what it is—sedition. These nefarious activities, designed to erode trust in government and enrich the elite, were propped up by Minnesota’s white-collar crooks who profiteered shamelessly off the backs of everyday families.
Let’s start at the root. In 2008, the Somali Remittance Relief Act was rammed through by then-State Rep. Keith Ellison as the primary author, with co-sponsors Reps. Phyllis Kahn and Alice Hausman greasing the wheels. This wasn’t charity; it was a setup for unchecked billions to flow overseas with zero safeguards, priming the pump for fraud. Why did Ellison, Kahn, and Hausman ignore intelligence warnings about money laundering risks? Did they know this “relief” would become a fraud freeway?
By 2016, the rot was spreading. As I flagged daycare fraud to DHS—fake invoices, phantom programs tied to those same remittance networks—the system ballooned without oversight. Nonprofits laundered cash like it was laundry day. And who rubber-stamped the next “reform”? Ellison again, this time with Rep. Tom Emmer in Congress, pretending to clean house while leaving the doors wide open. No audits, no crackdowns—just more theater. Why didn’t Ellison and Emmer demand real investigations based on whistleblower intel from me and my colleagues? Were they too busy cashing checks from the very networks they enabled?
The connections stink of compromise. Ellison’s campaigns pocketed maxed-out $2,500 donations from fraud-linked figures like Jamal Hashi, a Feeding Our Future board member, and others tied to defendants such as Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh and Mekfira Hussein. These weren’t innocent contributions—they were payoffs from a $250 million scam that looted child nutrition funds. Ellison returned some only after the heat hit in 2022, but the damage was done. And let’s not forget the secret audio: Ellison pledging support to defendants while campaign cash was dangled. Why did he meet with these crooks? Was it to cover tracks or collect more?
Behind the politicians lurk the white-collar vultures—Minnesota’s elite fraudsters who turned public programs into private piggy banks. Take Aimee Bock, the Feeding Our Future mastermind, convicted on all counts for wire fraud and bribery after pocketing millions from fake meal claims. Or Ahmed Ghed, the 47th convict, who faked feeding thousands in St. Paul while lining his pockets. These aren’t street thugs; they’re suited-up schemers like the Falades in the housing fraud ring, inflating bills and stealing $107 million from stabilization programs. They profiteered off daycare and nutrition scams, exploiting COVID chaos while Minnesotans struggled. Why haven’t legislators like Ellison probed these ties deeper? Because the scheme’s tentacles reach their own campaigns?
This pattern screams sedition: a deliberate assault on Minnesota’s institutions, undermining our Republic by bleeding the treasury dry and eroding public faith. Compromised officials looked away—or worse, participated—while white-collar criminals cashed in. By 2022, Feeding Our Future had exploded into over 70 indictments and 50 convictions, all traceable to those ignored warnings. Why didn’t any legislator—DFL or GOP—act on our intel to prevent this treasonous theft?
Enough. As Governor, I’ll rip this rot out: mandatory audits on all remittance flows, lifetime bans for fraud-linked donors, and full investigations into every compromised politician. No more nice guy—it’s time for accountability. Minnesotans, you’ve been robbed. Demand answers, or vote for the status quo. I tracked these traitors before; I’ll jail them now.
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