Exclusive | Ilhan Omar’s hubby’s $30M firm quietly scrubs names from website – as ‘Squad’ member faces mounting questions on sudden wealth amid Minnesota welfare fraud
Ilhan Omar’s Husband’s Venture Capital Firm Removes Key Executives From Webpage Amid Growing Wealth‑Inquiry
A Washington‑DC‑based venture‑capital firm tied to Representative Ilhan Omar’s husband has quietly taken down information on several top officers—including two former Obama‑era officials—while questions mount over the congresswoman’s sudden rise in net worth.
Omar, a Somali‑born Democrat from Minnesota, earned a reputation for being almost broke when she first entered Congress in 2019, carrying only student debt and a car loan. Within a year, however, her self‑reported assets jumped to between $6 million and $30 million, a dramatic increase that has attracted scrutiny.
The spike in wealth coincided with a colossal fraud scheme involving the Minnesota “Safari” restaurant and a larger network of Somali‑owned businesses that siphoned more than $12 million from federal child‑meal programs during the pandemic. Nearly 90 people have faced charges in the case, including three with ties to the member of the now‑disbanded “Squad,” although Omar herself has never been charged.
From Politics to Wealth
Shortly after the fraud exposed itself, Omar’s husband, political consultant Tim Mynett, founded Rose Lake Capital in 2022. Public records show the firm’s assets leapt from close to zero in 2023 to between $5 million and $25 million in 2024, while the company claims to manage $60 billion in assets—a figure far beyond what most Wall Street firms boast.
“It’s a strange development,” said Paul Kamenar of the National Legal and Policy Center. “Omar was near‑bankrupt when she took office and now she could be a multimillion‑dollar earner. She needs to explain where that money came from.”
Rose Lake’s only listed address is a WeWork space in Washington, DC, and the firm maintains a LinkedIn presence that lists a handful of executives. Between September and October—after federal prosecutors announced additional charges—Rose Lake removed the profiles and biographies of nine senior officers from its website. Those former executives include:
- Adam Ereli, lobbyist and former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain
- Max Baucus, former U.S. Senator and former U.S. Ambassador to China
- Alex Hoffman, former associate of the Democratic National Committee’s finance chair
- William Derrough, former DNC treasurer
- Keith Mestrich, ex‑CEO of Amalgamated Bank, once dubbed the “institutional bank of the Democratic Party”
None of these individuals were charged in the welfare fraud investigation.
The Winery Side
In addition to Rose Lake, Mynett also owns a California winery that had previously faced fraud claims. The vineyard, which was declared a failed venture in 2023, saw its value surge to between $1 million and $5 million in 2024—an almost 10,000 % jump. A 2023 litigation case in which a wine investor alleged Mynett had defrauded him of $900,000 over a mislabeled venture settled out of court.
The winery, eStCru, had once marketed unusual collections such as “Blockchain” and “The Devil’s Lie.” In 2024 the business’s online presence was effectively nonexistent: its website was broken, phone numbers disconnected, and the last social‑media update dated back to 2023. It appears no wines are being shipped to customers now.
Omar’s Role in the Scandal
Omar introduced the “MEALS Act” in 2020, a bill that loosened oversight of federal child‑meal programs during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Critics argue that the legislation enabled fraudsters to claim they served millions of meals without verification, draining millions of dollars in subsidies. Omar has repeatedly defended the act, stating it helped feed children.
Video footage from 2020 shows Omar standing at the Safari restaurant—a location linked to the current investigation—praising the program while distributing trays of food in a parking lot. In the clip she declares, in Somali, that the restaurant supplies 2,300 meals daily.
Her campaign received $7,400 in direct contributions from at least three individuals who have since been convicted in the fraud case. Omar says she returned those donations after the scandal was public. She also maintains ties with two key Somali‑influenced figures implicated in the scheme:
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Salim Ahmed Said – co‑owner of the Safari restaurant, who was convicted in August for misappropriating over $12 million in food‑program subsidies. A federal jury found him guilty of orchestrating a $250 million fraud, using the scheme to purchase a $2 million mansion and maintain a $9,000‑per‑month spending habit at Nordstrom.
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Guhaad Hashi Said – former volunteer on Omar’s 2018 and 2020 campaigns. He pleaded guilty in August to operating a fake food‑distribution website that falsely claimed to serve 5,000 meals daily and stole $3.2 million from the program.
Political Fallout
On Capitol Hill, Omar has stated she has no regrets about the MEALS Act and insists it helped feed children. When The New York Post asked for a comment, her communications director said the office was closed until January 5, offering no alternate contact. Both Mynett’s businesses’ phone lines remained out of service.
The controversy has not gone unnoticed by former officials. Former Vice‑Presidential candidate President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social in September questioning whether Omar knew some of the individuals involved and insinuating a personal or national connection. Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, who previously served under Vice‑President Harris, has faced calls from former administration members for his perceived failure to curb the fraud in the state. Education Secretary Linda McMahon prompted a resignation letter, and Rep. Tom Emmer (R‑MN) hinted at potential criminal charges.
Treasury and Justice Department officials have opened an investigation into alleged money‑laundering operations linked to the scandal.
Bottom Line
The dramatic increase in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s net worth and the corporate maneuvers of her husband’s ventures have intensified scrutiny of her ties to the Minnesota fraud case. While none of her top allies have faced charges, the removal of senior officer profiles from Rose Lake Capital’s website amid rising investigations marks a rare and concerning development in the ongoing saga.
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