MN fraud: Feeding Our Future scheme 'architect' Salim Said sentenced

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Salim Said, the man authorities said was the architect of the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme next to mastermind Aimee Bock, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday.

Salim Said sentenced

The sentence:

Said was also ordered to pay more than $44 million in restitution.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said Said is responsible for "the breaking of the public's faith in government."

The judge added: "It is my hope that one day the words Minnesota and fraud will not be spoken in the same sentence."

Prior to sentencing, Said spoke briefly, saying he was "deeply sorry" for his involvement in the case.

Prosecutors sought 40-year sentence for Salim Said

What they're saying:

Prosecutors had asked for Said to be sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, while Said's defense attorneys asked for only 12 years.

Prosecutors argued that while Said wasn't involved in "every dollar… that was stolen," he was a central player in the scheme.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Kline argued that public programs depend on trust and that Said's crime will "continue to impact this state for generations."

The other side:

At the sentencing Wednesday, Barry Zone, Said's defense attorney, said, "I’ve gotten to know his family so well," and "to give him a 40-year sentence for his involvement in this case is not justice."

Said's defense team also tried to separate Said from Feeding Our Future ringleader Aimee Bock in its argument for a lower sentence.

"He’s not the designer of the scheme," his defense attorney said. "My client at no point was he in the position of Ms. Bock."

Zone also described Said's upbringing to the judge, saying Said "Spent the first 15 years of his life in hell" and "fled Somalia from civil war."

He said Said "went from refugee camp to refugee camp in Kenya" before coming to the United States.

Zone made an emotional appeal to the judge, saying, "you have to consider the kind of life he had" in deciding the sentence and that Said had "the fear of having nothing and living on the street."

Family members also wrote letters to the court in support of Said.

Salim Said's role in Feeding Our Future fraud scheme

The backstory:

Said ran Safari Restaurant in south Minneapolis, which claimed to serve thousands of meals per day. However, prosecutors said FBI surveillance at Safari Restaurant and other sites showed an average of just 40 people per day stopping to collect food.

Prosecutors say Said expanded the fraudulent operation through a nonprofit that purported to operate food distribution sites in Willmar, St. Cloud and Mankato. Ultimately, officials say Said was responsible for $44 million in losses.

In their sentencing memo, prosecutors described Said as the ringleader and "undisputed architect" who essentially "franchised" the fraudulent operation across the state.

Authorities said Said "weaponized" a federal program intended to help feed children in need and used the money to obtain a million-dollar residence, a "gilded mansion" on Park Avenue in Minneapolis, a fleet of high-end vehicles and other luxury goods.

Said was convicted on nearly two dozen counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, federal programs bribery and money laundering.

Big picture view:

Said was one of the leaders convicted in the $250 million Feeding Our Future pandemic fraud scheme.

In May, Feeding Our Future ringleader Aimee Bock was sentenced to 41.5 years in prison and ordered to pay $243 million in restitution to the federal government.

The Source: The information in this story comes from Wednesday's sentencing hearing and past FOX 9 reporting.