Back in June of 2024, in allegations that were explosive but went nowhere, though could come back up again now that President Trump is in charge and his DOJ is trying to tackle the Swamp corruption issue, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was accused of fraud and corruption regarding millions of dollars funneled to her husband.
As background, the allegations of corruption were pushed by her political opponent at the time, Don Samuels, a politician who was running in an attempt to take Rep. Omar’s seat from her. Samuels was running as a Democrat and trying to primary Rep. Omar, but she beat him handily in the primary election. It remains to be seen if the Trump DOJ will use the accusations pushed by Samuels to hold Rep. Omar accountable.
In any case, Samuels called out Rep. Omar for a seemingly major scandal involving a consulting business owned by her husband, Tim Mynett. That consulting firm received a whopping $3 million from Rep. Omar’s congressional campaign in 2020, payments that were technically legal but have raised eyebrows. Samuels also accuses Omar and Mynett of bilking investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a wine business scandal.
In a statement on the matter released on June 6 of 2024, Samuels said he was calling out Rep. Ilhan Omar for “previously paying her husband Tim Mynett $3 million of campaign money and the ways her time in office has given his businesses access and credibility.”
Adding to that in the statement, Samuels went on to allege that “they’ve misappropriated more than $1 million in money from South Dakota investors, left workers unpaid and found their funds frozen by the Office of Foreign Assets Control-the U.S. Treasury Department unit in charge of enforcing sanctions.”
Further, Samuels alleged that a “series of businesses run by Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, and his business partner, Will Hailer . . . have benefitted from funds controlled by or provided access by Omar. During the 2020 campaign cycle, Omar paid her husband’s political consultancy nearly $3 million, enriching her own household in the process.”
Connecting that to the winery matter, Samuels said, “Mynett and Hailer then started a California winery, eStCru, after being given grapes in lieu of money for marketing work. The winery is currently embroiled in a strange breach of contract lawsuit, where through Omar’s political connections, they secured an investment of $300,000 on the promise of a $900,000 repayment just 18 months later.”
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Going on to describe how that went, and noting that their business got involved with the sanctions regime, Samuels then alleged, “The first of two venture capital firms started by Mynett and Hailer, eSt Ventures, was sued by South Dakota hemp investors after the firm failed to return over $1 million dollars to investors after a failed promise to raise additional funds for hemp-related businesses in that state. After weeks turned to months of excuses, Hailer told the investors that his money was being held by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. Treasury Department unit charged with enforcing sanctions.”
Commenting on the matter in a quote released as part of the statement, Samuels said, “Unfortunately, this story is just the latest scandal in a string of new stories about Rep. Omar that narrows the focus on her and brings us further from the type of progress our district and our country need around issues that affect the lives of our neighbors. Rep. Omar has used her three terms in Congress–what many would consider the opportunity and honor of a lifetime-to divide our community and enrich herself in the process.”
Further, he added, “The Fifth Congressional District and our country face significant challenges. We deserve elected officials who are focused on bringing people together and addressing issues like public safety, global climate change, and the security of our democracy-and, in this case, we deserve honesty, transparency, and answers.”
Watch Samuels in his press statement on the matter here: