Guhaad Hashi Said Pleads Guilty to His Involvement in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS – Guhaad Hashi Said, age 49, pled guilty yesterday 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 role in the massive fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced 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 participate in a fraudulent scheme to obtain and misappropriate millions of dollars in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to underprivileged children.

Said purported to operate a Federal Child Nutrition Program site under the name Advance Youth Athletic Development.  Said incorporated Advance Youth Athletic Development on February 26, 2021 and listed its registered office at a residential apartment unit in the Central Avenue Lofts, an apartment building in Northeast Minneapolis.  Said purported to run a federal child nutrition program site from this apartment building.

Beginning in March 2021, Said and the Advance Youth Athletic Development site submitted meal count sheets claiming to have served 5,000 meals a day to children, seven days a week.  Between approximately March and December 2021, Said and the Advance Youth Athletic Development submitted claims for serving more than 1 million meals.  In reality, Advance Youth Athletic Development and Said’s claims were grossly inflated and Said only served a fraction of those meals for which he claimed and received reimbursements.  In support of their false claims, Said prepared and submitted fraudulent meal counts, attendance rosters, and invoices. 

From August 2020 through 2022, Said also participated in a money laundering conspiracy.  The purpose of the conspiracy was to conceal, hide, and launder the proceeds of the fraudulent scheme to obtain Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.  Said and his conspirators created non-profits and limited liability companies for use in hiding the source and ownership of proceeds of the fraudulent scheme to obtain Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.  After laundering the proceeds of their scheme, Said and his co-conspirators used their shell companies to purchase real estate, cars, and other personal items.  For example, Said registered Advance Youth Athletic Development as a non-profit on or about February 26, 2021.  On or about April 1, 2021, he opened a bank account for Advance Youth Athletic Development. Between August 2021 and December 2021, Said transferred more than $2.1 million from Advance Youth Athletic Development bank accounts to S & S Catering.  These payments were purportedly for providing meals and food for Advance Youth Athletic Development to serve to children. 

In total, Said and his co-conspirators received approximately $2,906,740 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds based on their fraudulent scheme.

Said will be sentenced at a later date and faces up to 25 years in prison.

“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. “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 we will ensure that every defendant in this investigation is held fully accountable for their conduct.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Harry M. Jacobs, and Daniel W. Bobier are prosecuting these cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets