Minnesota Food Fraud: Salim Said Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison

Salim Said, a key figure in a massive federal food program fraud scheme in Minnesota, was sentenced Wednesday, October 28, 2026, to 30 years in prison. Said operated the Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, a Somali-specialty eatery in the “Little Mogadishu” neighborhood, which became a hub for a calculated effort to siphon millions of dollars from taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic by claiming to feed thousands of needy children who did not exist.

This sentencing marks another chapter in a sprawling scandal that has seen dozens of convictions and triggered a political firestorm in the Midwest. At its core, the case is about the exploitation of emergency pandemic flexibility—specifically, a federal program that allowed restaurants to distribute meals outside of traditional school settings. While the program was designed to keep children fed during lockdowns, it instead provided a loophole for a lucrative, systemic lie.

The Gap Between Claims and Reality

The scale of the deception was staggering. Said claimed a daily distribution of 6,000 meals. However, the reality captured by FBI surveillance cameras told a different story: only about 40 people a day were actually collecting food. For 21 consecutive months, Said submitted thousands of reimbursement claims for children who prosecutors say were entirely fictitious.

Salim Said, the man authorities said was the architect of the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme next to mastermind Aimee Bock, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday. https://t.co/bv0aZBTaz0

— https://x.com/livenowfox/status/2115609644345221559

The financial windfall was immediate and lavish. The government detailed how Said used the proceeds of the fraud to fund a lifestyle far removed from the needs of the community he claimed to serve, purchasing a $1.2 million home, various commercial real estate holdings, and an $87,000 pickup truck.

During his 2025 trial, Said denied the allegations, testifying that his restaurant was a vital spot for Somali immigrants and asserting that many of the meals were delivered off-site. However, by the time he reached his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Said changed course and expressed remorse for his actions.

A Systemic Failure of Oversight

Said did not act alone. He was recruited into the scheme by Aimee Bock, the leader of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Bock, who devised the overall plan to recruit various sites into the federal program, is currently serving a 42-year prison sentence and has been ordered to repay $242 million.

Food fraud minnesota — Photo: audacy.com

State auditors discovered that the Minnesota Department of Education had received numerous complaints regarding Feeding Our Future’s operations. Rather than intervening, the department frequently told the nonprofit to police itself.

“You took more than taxpayers’ dollars to enrich yourself. You took the reputation of our state down with you,” U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel told Said during the sentencing.

The fallout extended well beyond the courtroom. The depth of the theft became a political weapon for President Donald Trump, who used the scandal to ridicule Tim Walz for failing to protect federal funds. The pressure eventually became untenable; in January, Governor Walz announced he would not run for reelection, citing the relentless criticism over the program’s mismanagement.

Trump Used Fraud Case to Justify Immigration Crackdown

The “so what” of this case isn’t just the 30-year sentence or the millions of stolen dollars. President Trump partially cited this specific fraud as justification for an extraordinary immigration crackdown in Minnesota’s largest cities, effectively linking the crimes of a few individuals to the legal status of entire immigrant communities.

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There is, however, a counter-argument regarding the severity of the sentencing. Defense attorney Barry Zone, who pushed for a 12-year sentence, disputed the government’s characterization of Said as an “architect” of the scheme. From this perspective, Said was a participant in a larger machine engineered by Aimee Bock, and a three-decade sentence may be viewed as disproportionate to his role as a recruiter and operator.

Entity/Person	Financial Impact/Sentence	Role in Scheme
Aimee Bock	42 years prison / $242M restitution	Leader (Feeding Our Future)
Salim Said	30 years prison / $44M fraud attributed	Operator (Safari Restaurant)
MN Dept. of Education	Regulatory Failure	Oversight Body (Ignored complaints)

The courtroom is now quiet, but the political and social repercussions—from the immigration raids to the change in state leadership—continue to ripple through the Twin Cities.