Lawsuit against Omar's husbands' Badlands Ventures

Federal anti-terror agency allegedly froze funds tied to Ilhan Omar's husband during Biden years

Tim Mynett, the husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), saw investment funds from a marijuana venture allegedly frozen by the Treasury Department's anti-terrorism enforcement arm in 2022, a previously unreported episode that adds another layer to a sprawling pattern of failed businesses, investor lawsuits, and financial mysteries now drawing scrutiny from Congress and federal prosecutors alike.

The claim comes from Mynett's longtime business partner, Will Hailer, who told investors in August 2022 that the Office of Foreign Assets Control had placed a hold on funds they were demanding back from Badlands Ventures, a marijuana investment vehicle the two men co-founded.

OFAC, housed within the Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, administers economic sanctions against foreign terrorists and hostile regimes. It does not typically concern itself with domestic marijuana startups.

The Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday that it was unable to independently confirm whether OFAC ever placed a hold on any known business entity associated with Mynett and Hailer. The Treasury Department did not return requests for comment.

But investors found Hailer's explanation baffling at the time, and the trail of financial wreckage that followed has only deepened their suspicions.

Angel investors who put $1.683 million into Badlands Ventures sued Hailer when their money didn't come back. Court filings allege that Mynett and Hailer "moved at least some, and perhaps all, of Plaintiffs' $1.683 million out of Badlands Ventures' bank account for purposes other than Badlands Ventures' business."

The lawsuit went further, claiming the pair formed Badlands "with the present intention of stealing and/or misappropriating" investor money.

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