Winery Co-Owned by Ilhan Omar's Husband Shut Down Amid Fraud Allegations

A winery co-owned by the husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has been shuttered amid fraud claims, according to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. Comer stated that the winery had been selling empty barrels to investors under the pretense of "wine to be aged."

Comer made the remarks over the weekend, suggesting that the discrepancies in financial disclosures and the winery's operations could warrant a search warrant. The winery, eStCru, co-owned by Omar's husband, Tim Mynett, reportedly closed in April amid scrutiny over Omar's finances.

The revelation comes as Omar faces a federal probe into her U.S. citizenship, with law enforcement executing a search warrant at her Washington D.C. home earlier this month. These allegations involve claims that Omar and her father misrepresented her age to facilitate her acquisition of American citizenship.

Critics, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., have called for Omar's deportation if the allegations are substantiated. Omar and her allies have denied wrongdoing, characterizing the investigation as a politically motivated attack.

The House Oversight Committee had previously investigated Omar's finances following significant, unexplained increases in her reported net worth. Omar had attributed these discrepancies to an accounting error. In February, Comer sent a letter to Mynett, noting that Omar's 2023 financial disclosure listed her stake in eStCru as worth between $15,001 and $50,000, while the following year's disclosure reported a stake valued between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000.

"There are serious public concerns about how your businesses increased so dramatically in value only a year after reporting very limited assets," the letter stated.

In mid-April, Omar informed The Wall Street Journal that she and her husband collectively possess less than $100,000. The winery, eStCru, was established in California in 2020 by Mynett and a business partner and was recognized as one of Wine Business magazine's "Hot Brands of 2022."

A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee indicated that Comer had referred the matter of Omar's finances to the House Ethics Committee for review. The Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel responsible for investigating impropriety by lawmakers, has not yet addressed Omar's case.