Somali Refugee Resigns from Maine City Council After His Nonprofit Took $65,000 Meant for Mass Shooting Victims

Iman Osman was arraigned on felony gun charges ahead of his resignation.Well, that didn't take long.

The Somali refugee has stepped down from the Lewiston, Maine, City Council just days after being sworn in. The hasty exit came after reports showed his nonprofit pocketed $65,000 from the fund created to help victims of the October 2023 mass shooting that left 18 people dead in that central Maine city.

NewsNation, a conservative-leaning outlet, broke the story that Osman's outfit, the Lewiston Auburn Youth Network, was one of the recipients. Overall, about $1.9 million, roughly one third of the money raised, went to 29 nonprofits rather than directly to the victims. That list included nine immigrant focused groups and at least seven with Somali ties.

Victims and their families had been promised repeatedly that 100 percent of the donations would go straight to them, but that was a lie.

Jennifer Zanca, who survived the attack and was shot twice, said, "It didn’t really hit me and really upset me until I was in a position with a $93,000 hospital bill that I couldn’t cover."

Amy Sussman, whose nephew was killed in the shooting, added, "The survivors and family members were told that 100% of that fund was going to them. Meanwhile, money was being raised within that fund for nonprofits. They did not know that. They did not know about that part of the fund, most of them, until I told them a year later."

As the spotlight hit the nonprofit funding, more details emerged about Osman himself. He's under scrutiny over his residency. According to the Maine Wire, he listed 210 Blake Street as his address, a spot condemned after a federal raid in October 2024. 

A NewsNation reporter checked it out and described it as a "condemned chicken restaurant." Sources said Osman was staying there around the time of the raid. He hasn't explained publicly where he lives now.

The Lewiston City Council voted 6-1 to bring in an independent investigator to check if Osman even qualified to serve, just before he bailed.

The same week, Osman pleaded not guilty in Lewiston District Court to one count of receiving stolen property and one count of theft by unauthorized taking of a gun. He was released on personal recognizance, with his next court date set for March 9.

If you enjoy Brain Flushings and would like to subscribe or Buy Me a Coffee, and check out the sponsors on this page, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work and my coffee drinking habit. No pressure and subscribing is free.

Osman's attorney told NewsNation, "Mr. Osman resigned from the Lewiston City Council this morning. He is confident that he would have prevailed in the investigation, just as he did when these questions were raised to the city clerk before the election and to the School Committee."Another chapter in the ongoing saga of questionable decisions, diverted funds, and legal headaches in Lewiston. 

The victims and their families deserved better. Plain and simple.

Tweet