One of the most bizarre aspects of the Feeding Our Future scandal has been the deep and recurring connections between the case and the city of Seattle, Washington.
It was observed in the earliest days of the Feeding Our Future scandal back in 2022 that many of the figures named had made campaign contributions to prominent Minneapolis and Minnesota Democratic politicians.
It was also observed that many of these same figures had donated to an otherwise obscure (and ultimately unsuccessful) Washington state Democratic candidate.
In her 2022 campaign for Washington state representative and an earlier run for local office, Shukri Olow received campaign contributions from at least ten (10) individuals who would be later indicted in Minnesota or their spouses.
In addition, Olow received direct campaign contributions from two private corporations based in Minnesota (a practice not allowed in Minnesota politics).
Smart Therapy Center LLC, of Minneapolis, gave $300 to Olow in October 2022. This was one of two autism clinics raided yesterday by the FBI in an investigation linked to the free-food scandal. The other contributing business was a home healthcare company based in Minneapolis.
You will recall that Ladan Ali, the bagwoman in the unrelated Feeding Our Future jury bribery case, was recruited out of Seattle. Ali has pled guilty in the bribery case.
Back in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz declares that he is “pissed” about the most recent revelations regarding state program fraud. In an interview yesterday with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Walz says that,
You’ve got to increase the penalty on these crimes. These are crimes against children, in my opinion.
After six years of looking the other way as the state treasury is looted, Walz says he’s now going to get tough on welfare fraud. The Star Tribune notes,
The DFL governor said he’s fed up with fraudsters who are bilking programs meant to serve children in need.
The Governor could have proposed to the legislature stiffer penalties for fraud at any point since he took office in January 2019. You may have seen my ScandalTracker spreadsheet where I document more than two dozen fraud and related scandals under his watch. The running total is now up over $540 million.
