Representative Ilhan Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, operates a health and leadership consulting firm that was incorporated at a Minnesota address linked to individuals involved in a large federal food‑program fraud scheme.
Noor founded Grit Partners Consulting, which claims to have secured more than $20 million in funding for health initiatives from agencies such as the CDC, USAID, GAVI, and the World Bank. The firm’s website highlights these accomplishments but does not state that it received the funding directly. The company was registered at a home on Hyacinth Way in Lakeville.
The Hyacinth Way address belongs to Mashah Ahmed Ali and his wife, Ister Ahmed Afraa. Afraa’s business history includes a partnership with Hanna Marekegn, who pleaded guilty to participating in the fraud that misappropriated millions of dollars from a federal meal program.
Afraa also incorporated Sunshine Care Center MN, with the fraud’s founder, Aimee Bock, listed as a contact. Bock was sentenced to more than 41 years in federal prison for leading the scheme that siphoned over $240 million through more than 250 meal sites.
The same residence served as the registered address for Diversity Childcare Center LLC, again with Bock noted as a contact. Another figure connected to the address, Sahra Mohamed Nur, was sentenced for wire fraud and money laundering after running a catering company that claimed to serve millions of meals and received over $16 million in fraudulent reimbursements.
When contacted, Ali stated he was unaware of the businesses registered at his home and declined to provide his wife’s contact information. Neither Afraa nor Noor responded to requests for comment.
These shared addresses and business ties do not prove that Noor or her consulting firm participated in the fraud, and no charges have been filed against them. Nevertheless, the connections raise questions, especially as the representative has been unresponsive to inquiries about her own interactions with fraud defendants.
Omar’s name appears in court documents related to the scandal, including an email chain titled “Ilhan’s Office” and a text‑message exchange with Bock. She also promoted a federal food program at a major fraudulent meal site, Safari Restaurant, and received campaign contributions from several defendants.
The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee invited Omar to testify and requested records of her communications with Bock and other fraud participants. She failed to appear and did not submit the requested records by the deadline, and a committee subpoena effort was blocked by a vote of the Democratic caucus.
Omar has denied any knowledge of the scheme, calling such claims false and defending the bipartisan MEALS Act she introduced during the pandemic. Her statements do not address the committee’s questions or explain the link between her sister’s company and the address tied to central fraud figures.
The situation underscores a need for transparency and answers regarding the connections between the representative’s family business and the largest federal meal‑program fraud in Minnesota history.
