A former campaign associate of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Guhaad Hashi Said, has pleaded guilty to participating in a multimillion-dollar pandemic-era food fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors announced that Said admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, making him the 52nd conviction in the widespread “Feeding Our Future” scandal in Minnesota.
Said’s nonprofit, Advance Youth Athletic Development, fraudulently claimed to provide over 1 million meals to underprivileged children between 2020 and 2022 through the Federal Child Nutrition Program. In reality, only a small fraction of those meals were served. His organization was registered to an apartment in Minneapolis and fabricated meal counts, attendance rosters, and invoices to receive roughly $2.9 million in federal funds.
Court documents reveal that Said diverted over $2.1 million to a catering business and used other funds for personal luxuries like cars and real estate. He utilized a network of shell nonprofits and LLCs to obscure the money trail. Said, who previously ran for the Minnesota House in 2018, now faces up to 25 years in federal prison.
Though Rep. Omar has not been directly implicated in the fraud, Said’s past association with her campaign revives scrutiny over her political network. Omar has faced previous ethics violations, including a 2019 ruling that her state campaign misused funds for personal expenses, leading to a repayment order.
More recently, Omar came under fire from Republicans after a Somali-language speech was translated as prioritizing Somalia’s interests over U.S. policy. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called for her resignation, citing the remarks as anti-American. Omar disputed the translation, saying she vowed to protect Somalia’s sovereignty without undermining U.S. interests.
This latest development adds pressure to Omar’s political standing and highlights the far-reaching implications of the Feeding Our Future fraud, which continues to entangle figures tied to Minnesota’s Democratic establishment.
