MINNEAPOLIS, June 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Don Samuels,
a candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District, held
a press conference to address Minnesota Reformer political
reporter Max Nesterak's article
published yesterday about his opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, 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 as 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.
![Neighbors for Samuels logo. Neighbors for Samuels logo.](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2432633/DSamuels_LOGO.jpg)
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."
Nesterak's article lays out a series of businesses run by Omar's
husband, Tim Mynett, and his
business partner, Will Hailer, that
have benefited from funds controlled by or access provided by Omar.
During the 2020 campaign cycle, Omar paid her husband's political
consultancy nearly $3 million,
enriching her own household in the process. 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.
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. Hailer declined
to elaborate on the circumstances of that hold or whether it was
resolved in the Minnesota Reformer's article.
Mynett and Hailer's second venture capital firm, Rose Lake
Capital, appears to be doing international business, including the
buying and selling of distressed assets in foreign locales, with a
focus on opportunities in Africa.
Omar has so far refused to comment on the story.
"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," said Samuels.
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SOURCE Neighbors for Samuels