{"id":13622,"date":"2026-01-24T10:22:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=13622"},"modified":"2026-01-24T10:22:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:22:50","slug":"st-paul-ellison-audio-in-feeding-our-future-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/st-paul-ellison-audio-in-feeding-our-future-case\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Paul: Ellison Audio in Feeding Our Future Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. PAUL, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A leaked 2021 audio recording is back in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

The tape captures Attorney General Keith Ellison in a private meeting.<\/p>\n

Some attendees were later convicted in the Feeding Our Future fraud case.<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors say the scheme stole about $250 million.<\/p>\n

The money was meant for child nutrition programs.<\/p>\n

What the recording includes<\/h2>\n

The recording is described as a December 2021 meeting.<\/p>\n

Reports say it was an unused defense exhibit from Aimee Bock\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n

On the tape, speakers complain about state agencies.<\/p>\n

They also discuss political support and campaign donations.<\/p>\n

Ellison is heard saying he will look into their concerns.<\/p>\n

FOX 9 reported the tape shows no ask for money by Ellison.<\/p>\n

FOX 9 also said it shows no clear quid pro quo.<\/p>\n

Read more: FOX 9 report on the meeting audio<\/a><\/p>\n

More context: CBS Minnesota report on the leaked audio<\/a><\/p>\n

\"St.
St. Paul: Ellison Audio in Feeding Our Future Case<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Donations and responses<\/h2>\n

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported about $17,500 in donations within 10 days.<\/p>\n

The money went to Keith Ellison and his son Jeremiah Ellison.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah Ellison serves on the Minneapolis City Council.<\/p>\n

The Star Tribune said some donors were in the meeting.<\/p>\n

It said other donors were connected to the wider case.<\/p>\n

Ellison has denied wrongdoing tied to the meeting.<\/p>\n

His office told CBS Minnesota he met constituents in good faith.<\/p>\n

The office said nothing happened because of the meeting.<\/p>\n

KSTP reported Ellison later called the case much larger than he first thought.<\/p>\n

Related: Star Tribune report on donations after the meeting<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: KSTP report on Ellison\u2019s response<\/a><\/p>\n

Fraud case background<\/h2>\n

In March 2022, Ellison confirmed his office was investigating Feeding Our Future.<\/p>\n

He also asked a court to oversee the nonprofit\u2019s dissolution.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Justice announced major charges in September 2022.<\/p>\n

The DOJ called it the nation\u2019s largest COVID-era fraud scheme.<\/p>\n

In March 2025, a federal jury convicted founder Aimee Bock on all counts.<\/p>\n

Co-defendant Salim Said was also convicted, DOJ said.<\/p>\n

Sentencing and appeals remain part of the court process.<\/p>\n

More trials and pleas have continued in related cases.<\/p>\n

Official releases: Minnesota AG press release (March 2022)<\/a><\/p>\n

Official releases: DOJ charges announcement (Sept. 2022)<\/a><\/p>\n

Official releases: DOJ verdict announcement (March 2025)<\/a><\/p>\n

What happens next<\/h2>\n

Lawmakers have sought more details about the meeting and donations.<\/p>\n

Some have called for added oversight of state grant programs.<\/p>\n

Ellison says he did his job by listening and following up.<\/p>\n

Further hearings could add more information.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ST. PAUL, Minn. (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A leaked 2021 audio recording is back in the spotlight. The tape captures Attorney General Keith Ellison in a private meeting. Some attendees were later convicted in the Feeding Our Future fraud case. Federal prosecutors say the scheme stole about $250 million. The money was meant for child nutrition programs.… Continue reading St. Paul: Ellison Audio in Feeding Our Future Case<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[10875,6745,10880,10876,871,6750,772,10878,5660,10877,6631,4923,695,4895,10874,10879,9287,1686,6746,1452,2847],"class_list":["post-13622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-2021-audio-recording","tag-aimee-bock","tag-audio","tag-campaign-donations","tag-case","tag-child-nutrition-program","tag-crime","tag-doj-press-release","tag-ellison","tag-fbi-raids","tag-feeding","tag-feeding-our-future","tag-future","tag-keith-ellison","tag-minnesota-fraud","tag-minnesota-fraud-reality-check","tag-our","tag-paul","tag-salim-said","tag-st","tag-tim-walz","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13622"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13626,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13622\/revisions\/13626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}