Ilhan Omar’s knowledge of $1B welfare scam in Minnesota district under scrutiny
WASHINGTON, DC: A large-scale welfare fraud probe in Minnesota, reported to be as large as $1 billion in taxpayer funds, has led to the examination of the record of Rep Ilhan Omar by her detractors.
Although Omar hasn’t been indicted, some of the sentenced fraudsters who resided in or had their businesses running in her congressional district have created a buzz about the time and extent of her knowledge.
Ilhan Omar introduced bill that led to $250 million in fraud
Omar reportedly was the one who brought in the legislation that caused the $250 million fraud. However, she alleges that she did not know anything about it.
🚨 Minnesota’s Somali fraud scandal ‼️ @ACTBrigitte breaks down some of the numbers. “ I wonder how many people got kickbacks?”
— Stella Escobedo (@StellaEscoTV) December 4, 2025
• Medicaid housing services: $2.6M (2001) → $61M (2024)
• Autism program budget: $3M (2018) → $399M (2023)
“You’re going to tell me that… pic.twitter.com/YfCHBx5jnQ
The Minnesota government, through various departments, gave out nearly $250 million to provide meals to schoolchildren during the pandemic from 2020 onwards.
The funds, however, ended up in the hands of business owners, including Salim Ahmed Said.
Safari Restaurant—co-owned by Mr Said—was the venue where Omar celebrated her 2018 congressional victory.
“[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.
Salim Ahmed Said was found guilty in August of stealing over $12 million
Said was found guilty in August of stealing over $12 million for serving 3.9 million ‘phantom’ meals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Salim Ahmed Said, 33, is the owner of Safari Restaurant, which is where Omar held her 2018 campaign victory party. He was convicted for allegedly pocketed $5 million from the Feeding Our Future program for his own enrichment rather than for child nutrition. pic.twitter.com/OexvQSj8FW
— Geepers808 🍌 🦍 (@GeepersNFT) December 4, 2025
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.
It is pointed out by critics that Omar must have seen the signs of trouble much earlier, as she was interacting closely with the main characters and was instrumental in legislating that eased the supervision of the child-nutrition programs.
In the indictment documents, there is no direct connection established between Omar and the scandal. A spokesman for her office declined to comment to The Post.
The meals were funded through the 2020 MEALS Act that was sponsored by Omar and was approved by a bipartisan committee.
BIGNEWS: The 75 “Minnesotans” charged so far in connection to the massive $1 Billion ‘Feeding our Future’ Somalian fraud scheme that unfolded under Tampon Tim:
— Navigator (@BlalockNil90676) November 30, 2025
Aimee Marie Bock
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh
Salim Ahmed Said
Abdulkadir Nur Salah
Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim
Abdi Nur Salah…
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.
In total, 78 people have so far been indicted over the fraud, which also includes bogus claims of providing shelter for homeless people and diagnosing non-autistic children as having the condition and claiming government money for their care.
