Guhaad Hashi Said, 49, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his involvement in a scheme that exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
“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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “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. From where I sit, the scale of the fraud in Minnesota is staggering, and every rock we turn over reveals more. We must be honest and clear-eyed about the scope of this problem, because ending it will take an unyielding, all-hands-on-deck effort from all of us.”
According to court documents, from December 2020 through January 2022, Said conspired with others to defraud millions from federal funds intended for feeding underprivileged children.
Said operated a site under Advance Youth Athletic Development, which he incorporated on February 26, 2021. The organization’s registered office was located at a residential apartment unit in Northeast Minneapolis’s Central Avenue Lofts. He claimed to operate a federal child nutrition program site from this address.
Beginning March 2021, Said and Advance Youth Athletic Development submitted claims for serving as many as 5,000 meals daily to children seven days a week. Between March and December 2021 alone, they claimed over one million meals served. However, most claims were found to be grossly inflated; only a fraction were actually provided according to investigators. Said supported these false claims with fraudulent meal counts, attendance rosters, and invoices.
Between August 2020 and 2022, Said also engaged in money laundering with co-conspirators by creating non-profits and limited liability companies designed to conceal proceeds from their scheme. These entities were used for purchasing real estate, vehicles, and personal items using laundered funds.
For example, after registering Advance Youth Athletic Development as a non-profit on February 26, 2021—and opening its bank account on April 1—Said transferred more than $2.1 million between August and December that year from those accounts to S & S Catering under false pretenses related to food services.
Overall, authorities state that Said and his associates received approximately $2.9 million in federal funds through fraudulent activity.
Said faces up to 25 years in prison at sentencing on charges stemming from this scheme.
“Yesterday Guhaad Said pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in a sprawling fraud scheme designed to financially enrich the defendants at the expense of hungry children,” said FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr., adding: “Said stole money, falsified paperwork submitted to the government, and was reimbursed millions of dollars to which he was not entitled... The FBI together with our law enforcement partners will ensure this fraud stops...and every defendant...is held fully accountable for their conduct.”
The investigation involved collaboration among the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and U.S Postal Inspection Service.
Prosecution is being handled by Acting U.S Attorney Joseph H Thompson along with Assistant U.S Attorneys Matthew S Ebert Harry M Jacobs Daniel W Bobier while Assistant U.S Attorney Craig Baune manages asset seizure proceedings.
