A billion-dollar welfare scam has exploded in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Minnesota district, and the rot leads close to her inner circle. Omar held events at a restaurant owned by one of the now-convicted fraudsters, appeared alongside key players, and even saw one of her own staffers charged in the sweeping scheme that looted taxpayer money meant to feed children during the pandemic. While nearly 80 people have been indicted — most from her district — Omar has praised the very program that enabled the fraud. Whistleblowers say fear of being labeled racist stopped authorities from acting sooner. Ilhan’s pal stole milions. She celebrated at his restaurant — he later looted $12M with phantom meals. Now 79 indicted, and Omar stays mostly silent as the fallout grows.
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What did Ilhan Omar know about the $1B welfare fraud case in her Minnesota district?
By Chadwick Moore, NY POst, Dec. 4, 2025:
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US Rep. Ilhan Omar’s close ties to the $1 billion welfare scam in her Minnesota congressional district are being uncovered.
Omar (D-Minn.) held parties at one of the key restaurants named in the fraud, knew one of its now-convicted owners, and one of her own staffers has also been convicted — both for stealing millions.
“[Rep. Omar] knew who these people were. People she personally knew were making tens of millions of dollars in this program,” claimed Bill Glahn, a policy fellow with the Minnesota-based Center of the American Experiment, to The Post.“She had been inside the [Safari] facility on numerous occasions and couldn’t put 2 and 2 together? Either she’s terminally naive, or knew and didn’t care,” Glahn added.
Around $250 million was handed out by the Minnesota government to provide meals to schoolchildren during the pandemic from 2020 onward.
Instead, it was pocketed by corrupt business owners, including Salim Ahmed Said. He’s the co-owner of Safari Restaurant, where Omar held her 2018 congressional victory party.
Said was found guilty in August of stealing over $12 million for serving 3.9 million “phantom” meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He blew much of the money on a $2 million Minneapolis mansion and a $9,000-a-month shopping habit at Nordstrom, according to prosecutors.
Guhaad Hashi Said and Omar attended several events together.
Said ran a fake food site called Advance Youth Athletic Development, where he falsely claimed to serve 5,000 meals a day — and pocketed $3.2 million from the food program.
Omar has not been directly linked to the scandal, according to prosecutorial documents. Her office did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
The free meals were made possible by the 2020 MEALS Act, which was introduced by Omar and passed with bipartisan support.
The fraud network was centered in Omar’s 5th Congressional District, where 60 of the 79 indicted lived. Omar has remained mostly silent about the scandal that has rocked the nation.
Most of the money in Minneapolis was funneled through the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
It allowed both nonprofits and for-profit businesses to be reimbursed with taxpayer money for feeding kids by dramatically loosening oversight, waiving site inspections, and allowing bulk take-home food, with almost no verification.
As the scam was going on in 2020, Omar appeared on video at Minneapolis’ Safari Restaurant to praise the program.
The congresswoman later told KARE 11 News: “The alleged fraud scheme orchestrated by Feeding Our Future is reprehensible. Using the guise of feeding children to funnel millions of dollars toward extravagant expenses is abhorrent, and anyone who participated in this scheme must be held accountable.”
Her spokesperson also said she had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.
In 2021, when Minnesota’s Department of Education (MDE) flagged that organization for irregularities and “serious deficiencies” such as incomplete audits, a top aide to Omar, deputy district director Ali Isse, came rushing to their defense, in a newly resurfaced video.
He spoke at a gala praising the “vital work” of Feeding Our Families and blasted state agencies for asking too many questions.
“I’m tired of the MDE thing. How many more do we have to fight against?” the top Omar associate, who has not been indicted or directly linked to the fraud, said during the impassioned speech.
He also blamed the unwanted attention from authorities on racism and rallied the “community” to stick together. Isse did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
Whistleblowers have claimed the fear of being called racist meant government officials were reluctant to prosecute the scheme to its full extent early on.
Most of the money in Minneapolis was funneled through the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
It allowed both nonprofits and for-profit businesses to be reimbursed with taxpayer money for feeding kids by dramatically loosening oversight, waiving site inspections, and allowing bulk take-home food, with almost no verification.
As the scam was going on in 2020, Omar appeared on video at Minneapolis’ Safari Restaurant to praise the program.
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