Republican Sens. Joni Ernst and Mike Lee are asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe a Minnesota-based non-profit that “exhibits a troubling pattern of red flags around its legitimacy” and is run by a Somali man whose brother was arrested for allegedly trying to join ISIS.
Ernst and Lee are asking Bondi to “initiate suspension proceedings to protect ongoing federal interests pending full investigation” and to refer “relevant matters to other DOJ components for further inquiry” in relation to Generation Hope MN, a tax-exempt organization founded in 2019 that is focused on addiction recovery and substance abuse disorder, according to a copy of the letter obtained exclusively by The Federalist.
Somali-born Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith tried to earmark $1 million in congressionally appropriated Department of Justice funding to Generation Hope MN. The funding was exposed by Ernst and Lee, and removed by the House.
Still, Ernst and Lee are asking the Department of Justice to probe the organization to ensure its legitimacy.
“Based on publicly available records and Internal Revenue Service filings, Generation Hope, MN exhibits a troubling pattern of red flags around its legitimacy, operational capacity, and financial stewardship,” the letter states.
According to the letter, there are “questionable operational” footprints for Generation Hope MN.
The IRS 1023-EZ form which organizations use to apply for recognition as a tax-exempt organization allegedly show “the three directors of Generation Hope MN listed the same address for a five-bedroom home in Minneapolis as their primary residence,” according to the letter.
Further, Generation Hope MN’s website lists two addresses, including — according to the letter — an address “publicly associated with Sagal Restaurant and Coffee, a Somali restaurant.”
The owner of this coffee shop has stated Generation Hope MN occupies office space above the restaurant, according to Fox News, but Ernst and Lee say in their letter that “this shared address with a commercial establishment, combined with the absence of dedicated program facilities or visible service infrastructure, raises substantial doubts about the organization’s independent operations and scale…”
The last publicly available IRS 990 form for Generation Hope MN comes from 2023 and “reflects a financial profile inconsistent with a functioning nonprofit capable of responsibility managing taxpayer dollars,” the letter states. Some of those alleged inconsistencies include a revenue of only $51,353 which includes government fees and contracts, the executive director reportedly worked just 30 hours each week, and more than $12,000 in travel, which Ernst and Lee say is “an unusual cost for an organization whose mission is focused on serving Minneapolis’ East African community.”
Ernst and Lee say that “While no identical misconduct is alleged here, Generation Hope MN’s spending profile fits a fraud-risk pattern that has already cost taxpayers billions across Minnesota programs.”
In recent weeks it has been revealed that Minnesotans were the victim of a massive Covid-era welfare scheme that involved money laundering operations through daycare centers, housing programs, and Medicaid services — most with ties to the Somali community.
Notably, Generation Hope MN founder Abdirahman Warsame’s older brother, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, was arrested in 2015 for alleged preparing to move to Syria to join ISIS, a terrorist organization.
Abdirahman has downplayed what Abdirizak did, even claiming during a TED talk that the United States never “fully accepted them.”
“And when they were taken, people whispered about them, but it was rarely asked, ‘How did it come to this? What does it mean to grow up in a country that never fully embraces you but never lets you go?’ None of them with priors and all of them faced an uncertain future in a country that never fully accepted them. Soon after, they were sent into a system that was never designed to help them and certainly not there to protect them.
As Ernst and Lee ask: “Should someone with such associations be considered worthy of taxpayer funding? … It is undeniable that expressing admiration for someone who sought to commit atrocities against the United States raises most serious concerns.”
In a statement to The Federalist, Ernst said, “It is almost too insane to believe: Congress trying to send $1 million to an ‘East African’ addiction center operated above a Somali Restaurant and run by three people who live in the same house, with a relative who tried to join ISIS.”
Lee criticized Congress for planning to send the $1 million earmark, saying that despite the widespread fraud, “Congress planned to send $1 million to yet another Somali aid organization, Generation Hope MN. Stopping these funds is not enough: we should pursue every red flag, uncover every wrongdoing, and suspend federal eligibility for taxpayer dollars.”
Generation Hope MN did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
