Somali City Council Member Resigns Days After Being Sworn in Over Criminal Charges

Iman Osman, a refugee from Somalia who had been sworn on to the Lewiston City Council in Maine this week, resigned only hours after a news investigation revealed alleged fraud at a nonprofit he runs.

Osman leads a group called the Lewiston Auburn Youth Network, which received money to help victims in the wake of the October 2023 shooting in the area, which killed 18.

But when NewsNation reported on Wednesday that nearly $2 million in funds for the victims were instead given to 29 nonprofits — including seven run by Somalis — Osman’s group was one of the entities implicated.

Amy Sussman, whose nephew Max Hathaway was killed in the shooting, investigated and learned that $1.9 million earmarked for victims instead went to the