Ilhan Omar’s political circle keeps getting smaller as more of her allies face serious legal trouble.
The latest bombshell involves someone who used to work directly for her campaign.
And Ilhan Omar’s former associate confessed to one crime that left her political future in serious jeopardy.
Omar’s former "enforcer" admits to massive fraud scheme
Guhaad Hashi Said, a 49-year-old former "enforcer" for Democrat Party Representative Ilhan Omar’s campaign, just pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges that could land him in prison for 25 years.¹
Said pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in a scheme that exploited pandemic relief programs meant to feed underprivileged children.
The crimes unfolded during the pandemic when countless families faced food insecurity – making Said’s actions particularly appalling.
Court documents reveal that between December 2020 and January 2022, Said orchestrated his scheme targeting the Federal Child Nutrition Program, which provides reimbursements to organizations that serve meals to underprivileged children.
Said claimed to operate a nutrition program site called Advance Youth Athletic Development, which he incorporated on February 26, 2021, and listed its registered office at a residential apartment unit in the Central Avenue Lofts in Minneapolis.
Beginning in March 2021, Said and his bogus organization filed paperwork claiming they were feeding 5,000 children daily.
That’s a staggering number for what was essentially a one-man operation run out of an apartment.
Between March and December 2021, Said’s organization filed claims for feeding over 1 million children.
However, Said only served a fraction of the meals for which he claimed and received reimbursements, according to court documents.
He prepared and submitted completely fraudulent meal counts, attendance rosters, and invoices to back up his lies.
The money laundering gets even worse
Said’s crimes didn’t stop with stealing food money from hungry children.
He also participated in an elaborate money laundering conspiracy from August 2020 through 2022 designed to hide the stolen funds.
Said and his accomplices established fake nonprofits and shell companies to disguise the source and ownership of their ill-gotten gains.
The conspirators then used their laundered money to buy real estate, vehicles, and personal luxury items.
Court records show that around April 1, 2021, Said established a bank account for his phony Advance Youth Athletic Development organization.
During the latter half of 2021, he moved over $2.1 million from those accounts to another entity called S & S Catering.
The payments were supposedly for providing meals that Advance Youth Athletic Development would serve to children – but it was all part of the money laundering operation.
Said and his co-conspirators received approximately $2,906,740 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds from the scheme, according to the Justice Department.
This reflects terribly on Omar’s judgment
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson was blunt about how bad the corruption problem has gotten in Minnesota.
"The conviction of the 52nd defendant in the Feeding our Future case is yet another reminder of the vast reach of this fraud and the scale of the crisis we face in Minnesota," Thompson said in a statement.²
Think about that – Said is the 52nd person convicted in this massive fraud scheme.
"These crimes are not isolated events. They are part of a web of schemes targeting programs that are intended to lift up Minnesotans and bleeding them dry," Thompson added.
The prosecutor painted a picture of systemic corruption that goes far beyond just one bad actor.
"From where I sit, the scale of the fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and every rock we turn over reveals more," Thompson continued.
This puts Omar in an impossible position.
How do you explain away having a convicted fraudster as your campaign "enforcer" – someone trusted with keeping your political operation in line?
Said wasn’t just some random supporter who showed up to rallies.
The term "enforcer" tells you everything about Said’s role in Omar’s operation. These aren’t volunteers handing out flyers – enforcers handle the tough situations, the behind-the-scenes problems that campaigns don’t want going public. Said had Omar’s trust and access to her inner circle.
Omar’s track record with associates keeps getting worse
Here’s what makes this especially damaging for Omar – Said isn’t her first associate to land in legal trouble.
The congresswoman keeps picking people who end up facing criminal charges. At some point, you have to question whether this is bad luck or bad judgment.
Her judgment in choosing associates continues to raise red flags about her fitness for office.
The fact that Said even announced himself as a candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018 shows how embedded he was in Democrat Party political circles.
This wasn’t some outsider who fooled everyone – this was someone Democrat Party insiders knew and trusted with campaign responsibilities.
Now voters have to wonder: what did Omar know and when did she know it?
Was Said already running fraudulent schemes while working as her campaign enforcer?
Did Omar’s team conduct any background checks on someone given such an important role?
Why this hurts Democrat Party prospects nationwide
The timing here couldn’t be worse for the Democrat Party. They’re already reeling from Trump’s landslide victory, and now voters get another reminder of why they can’t trust Democrat politicians with taxpayer money.
Think about the optics here – Omar couldn’t even spot a criminal working directly on her own campaign. Her judgment on staffing was so poor that she put someone stealing from hungry kids in a position of trust and authority.
Voters connect these dots pretty quickly. If she can’t properly vet a campaign enforcer, how can anyone trust her decisions on national security, foreign policy, or anything else that matters?
The timing also highlights how Democrat Party politicians have consistently failed to protect taxpayer-funded programs from abuse.
While hardworking Americans struggled during the pandemic, Democrat Party–connected criminals like Said were literally stealing food from children’s mouths.
Said faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced – but the damage to Omar’s reputation may last much longer.
Voters don’t forget when politicians surround themselves with criminals, especially ones who steal from programs meant to help hungry kids.
Omar’s political future just got a lot more complicated, and she has no one to blame but herself for the company she keeps.
¹ Natalia Mittelstadt, "Former Ilhan Omar associate pleads guilty in pandemic food fraud scheme," Just the News, August 13, 2025.
² Ibid.
