Emerging insights have brought attention to Ilhan Omar’s possible associations with individuals found guilty in a Somali fraud case in Minnesota.

The congresswoman, known for her progressive stance and Somali heritage, hasn’t been directly linked to the scandal by prosecutors. However, connections have surfaced between her and two individuals convicted of food-related fraud.

In the meantime, an investigation by the Trump administration is underway to determine if the fraudulently acquired funds were channeled toward terrorist groups, possibly including Somalia’s Al-Shabaab.

Among those convicted is 33-year-old Salim Ahmed Said, who owns Safari Restaurant, the venue where Omar celebrated her campaign victory in 2018.

Said faced conviction in March 2025 on 21 charges such as wire fraud, bribery involving federal programs, and money laundering. He reportedly diverted $5 million from the Feeding Our Future initiative, intended for child nutrition, into personal gains.

Facing a lengthy prison sentence, Said is one of over 70 individuals charged in this expansive case, which has already resulted in 45 convictions.

Additionally, Omar campaign official Guhaad Hashi Said, pleaded guilty in August to running fake food site Advance Youth Athletic Development, and pocketing $3.2 million from the program.

Omar maintains she was completely unaware of illegal activity, even though she introduced the 2020 MEALS Act bill that made the $250 million fraud scheme possible. 

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar held her 2018 election night party at Safari Restaurant (pictured). The owner, Salim Ahmed Said, was convicted in March 2025 on 21 counts of wire fraud, bribery and money laundering after funneling $5 million to himself through the Feeding Our Future charity

And Omar’s campaign staffer Guhaad Said (pictured) pleaded guilty in August 2025 to running fake food site Advance Youth Athletic Development, and pocketing $3.2 million from the program

Omar’s links to the two food fraudsters show the extent of her connections to the federal scheme

Omar’s ties to the $1 billion welfare scam in her Minnesota congressional district are slowly being uncovered.

Not only did she likely dish out funds to hold her 2018 victory party at Salim Said’s restaurant, but a Minnesota-based policy fellow told the New York Post that she often frequented the Safari Restaurant.

‘[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 Center of the American Experiment.

He added: ‘She had been inside the [Safari] facility on numerous occasions and couldn’t put two and two together? Either she’s terminally naive, or knew and didn’t care.’

Omar’s congressional office did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment in new revelations about the extent of her links to the convicted.

Safari restaurant allegedly received more than $16 million in funds in ‘phantom meals’ he claims was to serve millions of meals to children that were never provided.

Prosecutors note that he spent the money he enriched himself with from the charity scheme on a $2 million mansion in Minneapolis and a $9,000-a-month shopping habit at Nordstrom.

Now the Trump administration is investigating whether the fraud scheme was laundering money to Somalian-based terrorist group Al-Shabaab

Additionally, Omar campaign staffer Guhaad Said claimed he served 5,000 meals every day, but was taking millions into his own coffers. He pleaded guilty to his fraud in August 2025.

He worked on Omar’s 2018 and 2020 campaign as an ‘enforcer’ overseeing an aggressive voter mobilization strategy in the Somali community in Minneapolis.

Guhaad Said and Omar often attended the same events, according to Facebook photos of the pair together, including smiling selfies.

Some who donated to Omar’s campaign even received fraudulent money from the food charity scam. The congresswoman received $7,400 in donations from now-convicted fraudsters.

When the scandal broke in 2022, she returned those contributions.