Somali fraudsters were busted ripping off Minnesota's welfare system.
But that was just the beginning.
And Somali scammers were caught raiding the victim fund of this terrible tragedy.
Steering Committee Members Steered Money to Their Own Bank Accounts
The Maine Community Foundation collected $6.6 million in donations after the October 2023 Lewiston shooting that killed 18 people.
Only $4.7 million made it to the victims' families and survivors.
The remaining $1.9 million went to NGOs run by the same people who sat on the "steering committee" deciding where the money would go.
Four steering committee members — Joleen Bedard of United Way, Nathan Davis of Gateway Community Services, Muhidin Libah of Somali Bantu Community Association, and Julia Sleeper of Tree Street Youth — each steered $65,000 to their own organizations.
That's more money than most of the actual shooting victims received.
Amy Sussman, aunt of victim Maxx Hathaway, has spent two years demanding answers from MCF.
The foundation won't answer.
Gateway Boss Fled to Somalia to Run Paramilitary Operation
Gateway Community Services grabbed $65,000 despite pulling in $1.5 million in taxpayer grants and $5 million in MaineCare revenue.
Abdullahi Ali runs the organization.
He became a Democrat Party mascot in Maine.
Less than a year after taking the shooting money, Ali fled to Africa to lead a militia against Jubbaland President Ahmed Madobe.
Video shows Ali strolling through southern Somalia flanked by soldiers carrying AK-47s — weapons he claims to have purchased with money raised in America.
Money donated for victims of Maine's deadliest mass shooting funded a warlord's private army in Africa.
Somali NGO Head Put Family Members on Payroll
The Somali Bantu Community Association collected $65,000 from the shooting fund.
Muhidin Libah runs the group and sat on the committee that decided where donor money would go.
Then he voted to send $65,000 to himself.
Tax documents show Libah paid family member Fadumo Libah $21,551 for "various business transactions" and gave another $38,559 to family member Hawa Dakane as a "Woman's Community Advocate."
None of the shooting survivors were Somali.
None of the 18 victims killed were Somali.
Somali community organizations walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars that Americans donated to help the victims' families.
United Way Sat on Victim Money While Families Drowned in Debt
United Way of Androscoggin County took $65,000 from shooting donations on top of $312,593 in separate contributions for shooting victims.
As of December 31, 2024, United Way still had $224,483 sitting in the fund while victims' families racked up six-figure medical debts.
Joleen Bedard drew a $154,243 salary while survivors struggled to pay for therapy and medical procedures.
None of the survivors recalled any contact with United Way staff.
United Way did redistribute donor money to migrant shelter Tedford Housing and migrant resettlement agency Catholic Charities.
What does migrant resettlement have to do with helping shooting victims?
Nobody will say.
Some Groups That Got Money Don't Even Exist
The AK Collaborative received $65,000 despite having no corporate registration, no IRS filings, and no evidence it existed beyond a Facebook page.
The group's website disappeared shortly after receiving the money.
Who did the Maine Community Foundation send the money to?
Nobody knows.
Generational Noor grabbed $65,000 after existing for less than two years as a social media page.
No state registration, no IRS 501(c)3 status, no corporate records.
Immediately after getting the money, Generational Noor announced it was opening an office at the same address as Gateway Community Services — the same Gateway run by the warlord now fighting in Somalia.
Ex-Convict Who Shot Drug Dealer Got Victim Money Through Two Groups
Joseph Jackson runs both Maine Inside Out and Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition — two groups that each received $65,000+ from the shooting fund.
Jackson earned $76,022 from Maine Inside Out and $58,741 from Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition in 2024.
In 1995, Jackson was convicted of manslaughter for his role in the fatal shooting of a cocaine dealer in Lewiston.
He served just 19 years of his 30-year sentence.
The Maine Community Foundation decided a convicted killer who shot someone in Lewiston was the perfect recipient for money raised in the names of Lewiston shooting victims.
Democrats Let Migrant NGOs Raid Shooting Victim Fund
Democrat Governor Janet Mills promoted the Maine Community Foundation as the "trustworthy conduit" for donations to shooting victims.
Her administration has awarded millions in taxpayer contracts to the same migrant NGOs that raided the victim fund.
The Somali Bantu Community Association got $31,000 in taxpayer money to recruit Maine residents to apply for EBT cards.
Refugee resettlement agencies, Somali community groups, and prisoner advocacy organizations walked away with nearly $2 million that donors sent for the victims' families.
The steering committee members who voted to give money to their own organizations saw no conflict of interest.
The Maine Community Foundation won't answer questions.
The families are still waiting for someone to explain how charity money raised in the names of their loved ones ended up funding a Somali warlord's militia.
Money donated to help victims of a mass shooting got diverted to migrant NGOs with zero connection to the tragedy.
Americans sent $6.6 million to help shooting victims.
Somali scammers and their Democrat allies made sure nearly $2 million never reached them.
Sources:
- Steve Robinson, "Maine Foundation Let 'Steering Committee' Steer Lewiston Shooting Donations to Their Own NGOs," The Maine Wire, December 19, 2025.
- The Robinson Report, "Investigation into Maine Community Foundation Lewiston Shooting Fund Distribution," Substack, December 19, 2025.
- Maine Community Foundation, "Lewiston Shooting Fund Distribution Records," MCF Website, 2024-2025.
- Department of Justice, "Federal Charges in 'Feeding Our Future' Minnesota Fraud Scheme," DOJ Press Release, 2022-2024.
