The firm went on to receive large amounts of money from Omar's political campaign after payments started in 2018, according to campaign finance records. Hailer earlier co-founded the political consulting firm E Street Group with Mynett.
A document filed in court shows the agreement was signed by Hailer.īut the money was never sent, according to the lawsuit that is seeking the return of $1.68 million, attorneys' fees and unspecified "punitive damages."Īn attorney for Hailer did not respond to requests for comment but has filed to dismiss the case. The parties reached a settlement agreement late last year that would have had Badlands Ventures pay about $1 million to Dakota Natural Growers and nearly $600,000 to 605 Cannabis. On behalf of his clients, Tarasek requested to inspect Badlands' Ventures books and records in November to see if the money was still there, the lawsuit states, but that request was refused.
Hailer and Badlands GP eventually returned $1.8 million to the investors, the lawsuit said, but they've never given back the rest of the money. But to their knowledge, "the defendants never secured any other investor, for any amount," the suit states. Over the subsequent months, the lawsuit states that Hailer repeatedly assured the companies and their investors that he was about to land new investments. The investors obliged, investing their $3.5 million into the Badlands Ventures fund, according to the lawsuit. Hailer allegedly promised the investors he could raise $10 million to invest equally in Dakota Natural Growers and 605 Cannabis if they entrusted him with their initial $3.5 million. The lawsuit states Hailer approached the owners and operators of the cannabis companies in early 2022 proposing he could raise millions of dollars on their behalf if they let him control the capital raise through his firm, eSt Ventures. They assembled a number of investors who were ready to invest $3.5 million split between the two companies. "We hope to resolve all claims amicably and are working towards an out of court resolution for all parties," Hailer said.Īccording to the lawsuit, Dakota Natural Growers and 605 Cannabis were seeking money from relatives and acquaintances to grow their businesses. Reached by email Wednesday, Hailer also said Mynett "had no involvement in the deal." Omar or her family have no involvement in this lawsuit whatsoever." Mynett did not respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit alleges that Hailer and Mynett co-founded eSt Ventures and formed the Badlands Fund GP to control another investment fund: Badlands Ventures.Ī spokesman for Omar said in an email that "Rep. Ilhan Omar's husband, Tim Mynett, is mentioned in the lawsuit but is not listed as a defendant in the case. House operations in the role of district director, according to a LinkedIn profile.ĭemocratic U.S.
He was a campaign manager for current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison during some of the Democrat's time in Congress and also worked as part of Ellison's official U.S. Hailer, who no longer lives in Minnesota, worked in politics for years and spent time at the Democratic National Committee as senior advisor. "These are new entrepreneurs excited about a new opportunity to bring medicine to people in South Dakota, and put their trust in someone who wasn't worthy of it." "We're disappointed that this money was stolen from us," attorney Jason Tarasek said on behalf of the plaintiffs he's representing. The lawsuit claims that Hailer and the three funds he manages solicited a total of $3.5 million in investments with the "intention of stealing and/or misappropriating most of the money." A former Minnesota political operative who worked for the Democratic National Committee is accused of defrauding two South Dakota medical cannabis companies and their investors of nearly $1.7 million.ĭakota Natural Growers, 605 Cannabis and about two dozen of their investors filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County in December against Will Hailer, eSt Ventures LLC, Badlands Fund GP LLC and Badlands Ventures LLC.
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