Federal authorities secured a 30-year prison sentence on Wednesday against Salim Said, an operator whose restaurant became a central hub in a massive pandemic-era food aid scandal in Minnesota. U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel delivered the sentence following Said’s 2025 conviction on a raft of charges tied to a scheme that siphoned millions of dollars intended to feed needy children.
A Calculated Lie on a Massive Scale
Operating Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, a business specializing in dishes from Somalia, Said claimed a staggering distribution of 6,000 meals daily. Prosecutors detailed in court filings that FBI surveillance cameras watching the site captured a starkly different reality, recording only about 40 people collecting food on a given day. For 21 consecutive months, Said submitted daily reimbursement claims for underprivileged children who prosecutors stated were entirely fictitious.
“The defendant and his sites did not serve thousands of children; he served a calculated, lucrative lie,” prosecutors noted in court records. The operation generated an estimated $44 million in fraudulent claims, some executed through recruits brought into the scheme.
The financial windfall fueled high-end purchases, including a $1.2 million home, commercial real estate, and an $87,000 pickup truck. At his trial in 2025, Said, a native of Somalia, denied the allegations and testified that many meals were delivered off-site. On Wednesday, however, he changed course and expressed remorse. Defense attorney Barry Zone had asked the court for a 12-year prison sentence, disputing the government’s characterization of Said as the scheme’s architect.
Nonprofit Leader Receives Prison Sentence for Fraud Scheme
The case forms part of a sprawling federal prosecution targeting the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Aimee Bock, the leader of that nonprofit and the one who devised the overall plan to recruit restaurant operators into the federal child nutrition program, is currently serving a 42-year prison sentence and was ordered to repay $242 million.
State auditors previously revealed that the Minnesota Department of Education received numerous complaints regarding Feeding Our Future but routinely directed the organization to police itself. The massive scale of the fraud—resulting in dozens of convictions—drew sharp scrutiny from President Donald Trump, who criticized Tim Walz for failing to halt the corruption. The scandal contributed to political pressure that led Governor Walz to announce in January that he would not seek reelection.
“You took more than taxpayers’ dollars to enrich yourself. You took the reputation of our state down with you,” Judge Brasel said during Wednesday’s sentencing.
