A Minnesota man who played a central role in defrauding a federal child nutrition program was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison. He is the latest person punished in a sweeping scheme that allegedly collected millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic by falsely claiming to provide meals to children in need.
The scale of the Minnesota fraud — which has resulted in convictions for dozens of people — has repeatedly drawn criticism from President Donald Trump. Trump has mocked Democratic Gov. Tim Walz over the state’s failure to prevent the scheme and cited the case in part as justification for an extraordinary immigration crackdown in Minnesota’s largest cities.
Salim Said ran Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, a business known for its Somali cuisine.
Prosecutors accused him of dramatically inflating the number of meals he claimed to have served when seeking federal reimbursement.
The government said Said was responsible for $44 million in fraudulent claims, including some allegedly submitted by people he recruited.
“You took more than taxpayers’ dollars to enrich yourself. You took the reputation of our state down with you,” US District Judge Nancy Brasel said.
Prosecutors said Said reported a “ridiculous daily distribution of 6,000 meals,” even though FBI surveillance cameras showed about 40 people per day picking up food, according to a court filing.
“The defendant and his sites did not serve thousands of children; he served a calculated, lucrative lie,” prosecutors wrote.
Said, who was born in Somalia, denied the accusations while testifying during his 2025 trial. He maintained that many of the meals had been delivered to locations away from the restaurant.
At Wednesday’s sentencing, however, Said changed his position and expressed remorse.
His attorney, Barry Zone, had sought a 12-year sentence and challenged the government’s description of Said as the scheme’s “architect.”
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered a federal program that traditionally provided meals to children through schools. The changes allowed restaurants to participate and expanded food distribution to sites outside the school system.
“For 21 consecutive months, Said made thousands of fraudulent reimbursement claims, day after day, month after month,” prosecutors said. “Each submission represented meals purportedly provided to underprivileged children, yet the listed children themselves were entirely fictitious.”
Prosecutors said Said used the proceeds to purchase a $1.2 million home, commercial real estate and a pickup truck valued at $87,000.
Said was convicted in 2025 on a wide range of charges alongside Aimee Bock, who led the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
Bock is serving a 42-year prison sentence after being convicted of developing the broader plan to recruit Said and others into the federal food program during the pandemic.
A judge also ordered Bock to repay $242 million.
State auditors determined that the Minnesota Department of Education had received numerous complaints about Feeding Our Future. In many cases, however, the department instructed the nonprofit to monitor itself.
In January, Gov. Tim Walz announced that he would not seek reelection after facing sustained attacks from Trump over theft involving programs funded with federal money.