A Minnesota legislative proposal to allocate $15 million in state funding to the WE WIN Institute, a Minneapolis nonprofit, has been withdrawn amid concerns that Alpha News reported on earlier this week.
Sen. Omar Fateh’s, DFL-Minneapolis, withdrawal of the bill raises a critical question: If he is now pulling the bill, why wasn’t the same scrutiny applied when he pushed to secure $3.5 million for the same nonprofit in 2023?
In 2023, Fateh sponsored legislation that was later included in a capital investment omnibus bill, signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, which allocated $3.5 million to the WE WIN Institute.
The current bill, introduced by Fateh along with Democratic Reps. Esther Agbaje and Cedrick Frazier, would have directed $15 million to WE WIN for “culturally specific programming and food services for Black students” in Minneapolis.
The 2023 proposal provided WE WIN Institute with funds to “acquire property and predesign, design, construct, renovate, furnish, and equip capital improvements to provide academic, social, and culturally specific programming and food services for Black students in the city of Minneapolis.”
Conflict-of-interest concerns emerge
The racially-exclusive bill raised further questions after it was discovered through public records that DFL Sen. Zaynab Mohamed—Minnesota’s first female Somali senator—was listed as a director on WE WIN’s board. Zaynab Mohamed serves alongside Fateh in the Senate and the two have familial connections.
When Alpha News reached out to Zaynab Mohamed about being listed on the board of WE WIN, she denied any knowledge of it, stating, “I have never been a board member of the WE WIN Institute, Inc. I only became aware of this situation late last week and have taken steps for the organization to correct its records.”
WE WIN Institute said Zaynab Mohamed was invited to join the board but she declined and her “name on filings was an error on behalf of staff.”
Family connections
Zaynab Mohamed and Fateh appear to be in-laws, according to information included in past media reports. Zaynab Mohamed has confirmed she is Muse Mohamud Mohamed’s sister, and Fateh has acknowledged Muse Mohamud Mohamed as his brother-in-law.
Additionally, a 2022 media report revealed that Muse Mohamud Mohamed’s voter registration listed a south Minneapolis address also associated with traffic citations and business records for Fateh’s wife, Kaltum Mohamed. The same address also appeared on the voter registration of Zaynab Mohamed.
Muse Mohamud Mohamed is no stranger to controversy. He was convicted in 2022 of lying to a federal grand jury about handling absentee ballots during Fateh’s 2020 campaign, part of a larger probe into election fraud.
Wait a minute…
Muse Mohamud Mohamed is Omar Fateh’s brother in law…
And Zaynab Mohamed is Muse’s sister.
So Zaynab Mohamed and Omar Fateh are related? https://t.co/t7fLtRyM6O pic.twitter.com/OVPJshpdgO
— Jeff Kolb (@jpkolb) February 19, 2025
All of this comes as House Republicans are examining the state’s oversight of grants sent directly to nonprofit organizations, which was the subject of the first hearing in a new Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee. According to the Office of the Legislative Auditor, state-funded grant spending to nonprofits totaled $558 million in 2022.
Alpha News reached out to Fateh for comment but received no response by the deadline.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
