Judge Orders 30-Year Term For Said

Salim Said will spend three decades behind bars after a federal judge in Minneapolis ordered a 30 year prison term on Wednesday. The ruling finalizes his punishment for his role in a massive federal food program fraud that cost taxpayers $44 million during the pandemic. This sentence follows his 2025 conviction and stands as one of the largest individual penalties in the Minnesota cases.

Said owned Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, which served Somali dishes. Prosecutors argued he inflated his meal counts to collect government payments. A court filing noted he claimed to distribute 6,000 meals daily. FBI cameras captured only about 40 people collecting food at his locations each day. The government stated that the children listed on his paperwork did not exist.

The scheme exploited pandemic changes to federal feeding programs. Restaurants gained access to funds typically distributed through schools. Said took advantage of this shift for 21 consecutive months. His operations generated enough profit for him to purchase a $1.2 million home, commercial real estate, and an $87,000 pickup truck. Prosecutors described the financial gain as a direct result of a calculated lie.

Said denied the charges during his trial. He testified that his restaurant was a central hub for Somali immigrants in an area known as Little Mogadishu. He told the jury that many meals were delivered directly to customers. He argued that good food naturally draws people in. His attorney, Samuel Savage, filed a sentencing memo before the hearing, though the document was not immediately available to the public.

The case connects Said to Aimee Bock, the leader of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Bock designed the plan to recruit restaurant owners into the federal program. She is serving a 42 year sentence for her role in the scheme. Dozens of individuals have been convicted in related Minnesota fraud cases. President Donald Trump has frequently cited these cases to criticize the state's Democratic leadership and justify immigration enforcement in major cities. State auditors reported that the Department of Education ignored complaints about Feeding Our Future for years. Governor Tim Walz announced in January that he would not seek reelection after sustained federal scrutiny.