Controversial Allegations Continue To Be Aired On North Talk Facebook Page About Eric Yusef Mahmoud, Founder Of SEED Academy/Harvest Prep, And Lisa Clemons' Defunct Daycare Center...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

I am trying to get all the way to the bottom of the rabbit hole which is this story, but for now what I know for sure and can write is that Lisa Clemons, a former Minneapolis city employee and sister of controversial activist Al Flowers, continues to air allegations that, in summary, say Eric Yusef Mahmoud (SEED Academy/Harvest Prep) ripped off her daycare center and caused its demise.

Part One of this story is linked here. 

Here's more...

Normally, in the bloody, tangled, messy web of interlocking alliances which is politics in North Minneapolis, Johnny Northside and Lisa Clemons wouldn't be on the same side of most issues. But I think it's fair to say Lisa Clemons has reached out to me on Facebook because she's not getting a fair shake from media entities closer to her end of the political spectrum, like Don Allen and his execrable, so-called International Business News Network.

(If Don has a "business news network," then me and my two piece of crap vehicles are a "metropolitan transportation system")

Don Allen has already staked out his "pro Eric Yusef Mahmoud" position in a handful of badly written articles which, in summary, say attacks on convicted mortgage fraudster Mahmoud are racially motivated. Click here for the worst example, in which Don Allen casually tosses around KKK imagery.

There does, however, seem to be some potential leeway in Don Allen's position, as hinted at in the article linked here. Keep in mind Don Allen is a "shakedown blogger" and money can make him dramatically reverse his position, as we saw with the Minneapolis schools fiasco involving a $15,000 payment to Don Allen. (This blog has never managed to confirm whether Don Allen got the payment)

So keeping in mind Don Allen's "pay me and I will switch positions" tendency (JUDAS!!! cough, cough) readers should take note of the following sentence written by Don Allen about Eric Yusef Mahmoud:

Yes, it bugs me a little that someone who’s making six-figures hasn’t picked up the phone and asked me to do any work. 

To which this blogger says: $15,000 will usually suffice to buy Don Allen's loyalty, Eric. You will probably want to keep that in mind. As for Johnny Northside, I'm a heck of a lot cheaper but, ironically, much harder to buy. Click here.

But let's get back to Lisa Clemons. What I'm trying to document for posterity, here (keeping in mind Facebook conversations aren't the favorite food of Googlebots) is what Lisa Clemons is saying about the sinking of her daycare center and, as a secondary issue, her dissatisfaction with the grassroots media in her end of the North Minneapolis playing field.

Here's some interesting back and forth that took place on Northtalk.

Trying to start a "pro Eric Mahmoud" thread, a forum named Thomas Berry wrote as follows:

All the negative press the founder is getting in this room, let's not forget about the good he's doing for the community! Can his critics say they are doing the same?

To which Lisa Clemons responded as follows:

Thomas Berry are you seriously still towing water for Eric Mahmoud! Accountabilty is when you won up to what you have done and publicly announce an apology for those actions that have caused harm to so many. You, like others, keep trying to push Mahmoud into a positive light in an area that has not been disputed. However, Mahmoud lied when he was confronted with the million dollar theft in Georgia, via an email to Steve Brandt. In the email he said the charges against him had been dropped in Georgia. Steve Brandt spoke with the prosecutor and found out that was a lie. Eric Mahmoud had PLED GUILTY to his crime and was placed on probabtion. He had no choice but to plead guilty .... or face jail time. 

NOW, accountabilty still has to be addressed for the loss of a BLACK business that taught CHILDREN in the North Minneapolis community. A CHILDCARE business that taught, SUCESSFULLY, young minority children. A business that gave jobs to people in the community. Jobs that were lost because Eric Yusef Mahmoud was a greedy thief! This is a man that oversee a great many impressionable black children. He did not MAKE A MISTAKE in his youth. He made a consciuos decision, as a grown ass man, held in high regard by some in the community, to commit a HIGH PROFILE crime in Georgia and to some of you a "low profile crime" in good old North Minneapolis. If he was truly sorry for his crimes why did it hide it? Clearly, by many on the school board, he did not disclose his crimes before they entered into a new contract with him. Many in his professional circle did not know of his crimes and clearly many on this thread had no knowledge. Please stop stunting Thomas.

The thread on which this conversation took place was red hot and distracting in a lot of ways, as two forum participants admitted to having been prostitutes back in the day and one bragged about her "specialty tricks." I only wish I was writing that in the parody font. Thank goodness those two aren't in my political camp.

One forum participant (who was NOT Lisa Clemons or either of the self-confessed prostitutes) hinted there was more information out there about Eric Mahmoud.

I think some one forgot an important fact. This crime was not done in his youth. He was not poor trying to find food, shelter and he certainly knew better when he committed his felony. The conviction isn't even 3 years old. The religious organization that he recently wronged was just this year but no one want's to come public with that one just yet

Lisa Clemons has apparently been in touch with Ron Edwards (who teams up with Don Allen in a "Donny and Ronny" radio show, sometimes) about the story of the daycare center going under. Clemons wrote as follows:

I got a call in to Ron Edwards. He has some of the original documents. Someone on here asked about the $5,000.00 a month payment to Eric Mahmoud for rent on our daycare space. The address was 2508 Golden Valley Rd. North (Corner of GVR/Sheridan). It was torn down by the tornado after the foreclosure was complete so Wells Fargo won in the end. The rent on the space, as we found out after the fact from Wells Fargo, was a little over $2,300.00 a month. Eric Mahmoud charged us $5,000.00 a month. Therefore he was already getting a huge profit and still kept 
the portion for the rent. GREED, GREED, GREED.

It's fair to say looking through the paper trail turns up a lot of interesting stuff. In fact, the stuff is so tangled and complicated that I've asked two different experts to look at the info and help me pick it apart. For now, what I will share is this 990 form.

990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/411/411677034/411677034_201006_990.pdf    

Anybody who can help me figure out what's happening here and whether there is basis to the allegations aired by Lisa Clemons is welcome to comment or contact me. In the meantime, I will say this:

Shame on Don Allen. 

There is no freewheeling exchange of important and relevant info on Don Allen's craptastic blog. Instead, it seems like every time Don Allen publishes something he has some kind of angle, some kind of half-baked hope for a potential payout, as documented above. If that one sentence isn't a blatant "shot across the bow" at Eric Yusef Mahmoud, then I must be hallucinating. I was too close to Don Allen for a while. I know how this con man operates.

Don is letting down the community by doing such a piss poor job at blogging. The allegations aired by Clemons deserve a fair hearing. If there are documents telling a story, that story should be told. It's just bizarre that Lisa Clemons should have to reach out to this blogger (far, far outside her political circle) just to get attention to issues that should be getting a fair hearing on IBNN or the "Ronny and Donny Show."

There's two reasons for this. First of all, it seems like Don Allen is no longer on good terms with Al Flowers, the brother of Clemons. And, secondly, Eric Yusef is the guy with the six figure salary, so Don Allen is going to kiss this guy's ass because this guy's ass smells like money.

This blog, in contrast, is happy to air the story about the daycare center, and let the chips fall where they may. If Eric Yusef Mahmoud wants to air his side of the issue, let him email me or comment here.

Let's get this whole thing out in the open about the daycare center and wherever else this rabbit hole leads.