Brennen Brothers, contributor

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison reached an agreement with Urban Advantage Services (UAS), a Minnesota non-profit meant to feed hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic, to shut it down after many governance violations. UAS will transfer its remaining assets to other organizations that provide similar charitable purposes.

UAS was founded in 2020 by Ilo Amba, the wife of Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman, with the mission statement to “provide skills building and employment resources that lead people to economic opportunities that improves their quality of life,” and to “inspire learning and sharing of knowledge by connecting people to each other through events and conferences.” According to Kare 11, Ellison called UAS a shell company, tied to Feeding Our Future. According to the Office of Public Affairs, Feeding Our Future was a $250 million scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during 2020. 

Ellison and Amba agreed to resolve the UAS in October. However, documents show that operations would end in Jan. 2022 when homes and businesses would be raided by the FBI, says the Minnesota Star Tribune. In an Assurance of Discontinuance filed in Ramsey County, Ellison alleged that the UAS “failed to employ a treasurer, maintain a registered address, maintain adequate books and financial records, and abandoned its corporate purpose,” according to the Office of Minnesota Attorney General. They also failed to meet as often as were required and file taxes with the IRS. 

An official statement from The Office of Minnesota Attorney General shared a quote from Keith Ellison, stating, “Minnesotans are a generous people, and we expect our charities to obey these rules, keep proper records, and work to help people who need it. Urban Advantage Services fell short of these expectations and failed to follow the law, so I’m ensuring they dissolve.”

In an interview with the Echo, Andrew L. Aoki, a political science professor at Augsburg, stated ways individuals can know if a non-profit is benefiting the community although none are foolproof. One is the Charities Review Council, which relies on information from charities or public data, which may make it unlikely to catch fraudulent activities. Another would be looking at the charity’s track record, which could be a struggle for new organizations. 

Ellison sued the organization last year, alleging that Amba created the charity to enrich her and her family, by exploiting the federal program under the means to feed hungry children during COVID-19. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Ellison has called it a “scheme that the federal government has described as ‘an egregious plot to steal public funds meant to care for children.’” Additionally, “70 people have been criminally charged in that case with defrauding the child nutrition program; 28 have been convicted, three are fugitives outside of the U.S., and one defendant died.” They continue to share that Amba has not been charged with any crimes and the lawsuit doesn’t prevent any claims against UAS.