A federal judge in Minnesota has sentenced restaurant operator Salim Said to 30 years in prison for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, one of the largest pandemic-era child nutrition fraud cases in the United States. Said was sentenced on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, by US District Judge Nancy Brasel, and was also ordered to pay more than $44 million in restitution.
Said co-owned the Safari Restaurant in south Minneapolis. Prosecutors said he submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims for 21 consecutive months, inflating meal counts and listing children who did not exist, while claiming his restaurant served about 6,000 meals a day. FBI surveillance, prosecutors said, showed roughly 40 people a day actually collecting food.
Key Takeaways
- Salim Said was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in the Feeding Our Future child nutrition fraud scheme.
- He was ordered to pay more than $44 million in restitution after prosecutors linked about $44 million in fraud to him and others he recruited.
- Prosecutors had sought 40 years, while his defence asked for 12 years; the wider scheme is put at about $250 million.
How the Fraud Worked
The case centred on a federal programme designed to provide meals to children from low-income families during the coronavirus pandemic, when schools were closed. Prosecutors said Said and his co-conspirators exploited pandemic-era changes that allowed restaurants and new sponsors to claim federal meal reimbursements, submitting fabricated meal rosters and invoices that claimed far larger distributions than surveillance showed.
According to prosecutors, Said expanded the operation beyond his own restaurant through a nonprofit that claimed to run meal sites in Willmar, St. Cloud and Mankato, recruiting others into the scheme. He was convicted at a 2025 trial alongside Aimee Bock, the founder of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, on 21 counts that included wire fraud, conspiracy, federal programmes bribery and money laundering.
Prosecutors said Said used the proceeds to buy a $1.2 million home, commercial real estate and an $87,000 pickup truck. The court also approved forfeiture of homes, vehicles and commercial property that prosecutors said were bought with stolen programme funds.
Prosecutors said his restaurant claimed to serve about 6,000 meals a day, while FBI surveillance cameras showed roughly 40 people a day collecting food.
What the Judge and Both Sides Said
Prosecutors described Said as an architect of the wider scheme, which they put at about $250 million, while acknowledging that he was not involved in every stolen dollar. Assistant US Attorney Rebecca Kline argued that public programmes depend on trust and that the crime would affect the state for generations. Prosecutors had sought a 40-year sentence.
Said’s defence asked for 12 years, pointing to his difficult upbringing and arguing that Bock, not Said, controlled the money. Said apologised before learning his sentence, telling the judge he was sorry for his actions and the people he hurt.
Judge Brasel noted the $44 million stolen from taxpayers and the damage done to trust in government. Reports from the hearing quote her telling Said that he took more than taxpayer money to enrich himself, and that he took the reputation of the state down with him. The 30-year sentence was at the bottom end of the sentencing guidelines calculated for Said, which ranged from 30 years to 250 years.
- Said was convicted in 2025 on 21 counts, including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering.
- Prosecutors linked about $44 million in fraud to Said and others he recruited.
- Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock received a sentence of about 42 years and was ordered to pay $242 million in restitution.
- The wider investigation has produced dozens of convictions, with asset seizures continuing for victim restitution.
A Case That Keeps Growing
The sentencing is the latest major milestone in a sprawling federal investigation that has already produced dozens of convictions. Bock, who headed the Minnesota-based nonprofit at the centre of the network, is serving a sentence of about 42 years. Other defendants in related groups have also received long sentences, including a 28-year term imposed on Abdiaziz Farah, the head of the Empire Cuisine group of defendants, which both sides cited during Said’s hearing.
The case has drawn attention beyond Minnesota because of its scale and its target: money meant to feed children during a pandemic. Federal investigators have continued to pursue related indictments and asset seizures, and prosecutors say the wider investigation into pandemic-era abuse of child nutrition funds is still going on.
The sentence also lands in a week of intense scrutiny of the US justice system, with federal judges in high-profile cases in the news and the Justice Department examining major corporate deals for competition concerns. Said’s case, however, stands apart for its human cost: funds intended for hungry children, diverted to homes, property and vehicles.
What to Watch Next
What happens next will depend on the continuing investigation and on how much of the $44 million in restitution is ultimately recovered through forfeited assets. The confirmed facts remain stark: a 30-year prison sentence, a restitution order of more than $44 million, and a fraud scheme that prosecutors say claimed thousands of meals a day that were never served. For the programme the money was meant to support, the question now is how trust in it is rebuilt after one of the largest frauds in its history.