Attorney General Ellison reaches settlement with cultural food bank and its president over misuse of funds, governance failures

Settlement requires president to pay back charitable funds he spent on personal food, retail purchases, car expenses, monetary withdrawals, and more

West African Family and Community Services agrees to continue governance improvements, president banned from directing nonprofits in the future

January 29, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today announced that he has reached a settlement with Brooklyn Center food bank charity West African Family & Community Services (“WAFCS”) and its president Edmund Ocansey. In the settlements, also known as Assurances of Discontinuance, Attorney General Ellison alleges that WAFCS failed to operate under the supervision of its board and allowed Ocansey unsupervised access to funds, some of which he used for his personal benefit.  The Assurances also allege that the organization failed to maintain adequate books and records, implement controls over the nonprofit’s finances, and make required regulatory filings with the state and federal government, among other violations. 

The Assurances require the organization, which re-engaged its board during the AGO’s investigation, to remove Ocansey from positions of control and continue strengthening its governance practices and compliance with charities laws. The Assurances also require Ocansey to pay $41,953.56 back to WAFCS as restitution for nonprofit funds he misused on personal purchases like fast food, retail purchases, car expenses, and monetary withdrawals. The Assurances also ban Ocansey from serving as an officer or director of a Minnesota nonprofit, in addition to other specific prohibitions. 

“Providing culturally specific food to West African community members is an important cause, so it is all the more disappointing when charitable funds meant for this community are misused,” Attorney General Ellison said. “West African Family & Community Services failed to properly control and protect their charitable assets, which is both a violation of the law and of the public’s trust. This settlement marks a path forward for WAFCS to rebuild that trust and ensure that its resources are serving its mission of assisting Minnesota’s West African community.” 

WAFCS was founded in December 2016 and was meant to work closely with the Brooklyn United Methodist Church.  In August 2021, a volunteer with WAFCS filed a complaint with the Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office, stating that he was concerned that the organization’s president was misusing assets. The Charities Division launched an investigation under Minnesota’s civil nonprofit corporation and charitable trust laws, which require nonprofit directors and those who hold charitable assets to adhere to strict governance standards and fiduciary duties. In Minnesota, the Attorney General through the Charities Division has civil, not criminal, enforcement authority over the state’s nonprofit corporation and charitable trust laws.

“I would like to thank the brave volunteer who witnessed something wrong and reported their concerns to my office,” added Ellison. “Reports like these help me step in to protect the assets of nonprofits and ensure those resources go towards their intended charitable purpose. I encourage other Minnesotans who believe they have witnessed illegal or unethical behavior at a nonprofit to file a complaint with my office.”

Minnesotans with concerns about governance or other issues at a nonprofit may submit a complaint on the Attorney General’s website. Minnesota consumers may also contact the Attorney General’s Office by calling (651) 296-3353 (Metro area), (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota), or (800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay).

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office makes available a number of publications and pamphlets about charitable organizations, charitable trusts, professional fundraisers, and nonprofit organizations generally: