{"id":2520862,"date":"2025-12-13T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ilhan-omars-republican-opponent-reveals-congresswomans-deep-ties-to-somali-fraud-scandal\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T12:02:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T17:02:02","slug":"ilhan-omars-republican-opponent-reveals-congresswomans-deep-ties-to-somali-fraud-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ilhan-omars-republican-opponent-reveals-congresswomans-deep-ties-to-somali-fraud-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilhan Omar&#8217;s Republican Opponent Reveals Congresswoman&#8217;s &#8216;Deep Ties&#8217; to Somali Fraud Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Filhan-omars-republican-opponent-reveals-congresswomans-deep-ties-to-somali-fraud-scandal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2520862&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh article discusses allegations made by Republican candidate John Nagel against Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of minnesota. Nagel claims that Omar has &#8220;deep ties&#8221; to individuals involved in a large fraud scandal related to COVID-era federal aid programs, notably the &#8220;Feeding Our Future&#8221; scheme, which resulted in more then $1 billion in fraudulent payments, mostly involving members of the Somali community in Minnesota. The Justice Department prosecuted numerous individuals-mostly of Somali descent-for <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >falsely claiming federal funds intended<\/a> for feeding children, with some defendants using the money for lavish lifestyles.<\/p>\n<p>Nagel points out that the fraud predominantly occurred in Minnesota&#8217;s 5th Congressional District, Omar&#8217;s area, and that some people close to Omar, including campaign associates and business owners from her community, have been convicted. He argues that many convicted individuals donated to Omar&#8217;s political campaigns, with some funds not fully accounted for.<\/p>\n<p>In response,Omar acknowledges the scale of the fraud but emphasizes that the Somali community-Minnesotans and taxpayers themselves-are victims of the scandal,expressing frustration over the widespread criminal activity.The controversy highlights ongoing investigations and political tensions surrounding Omar&#8217;s connections and oversight of the COVID-related aid programs in her district.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Republican John Nagel, who is seeking to unseat Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, says that she has &ldquo;deep ties&rdquo; to those who have been charged and, in many cases, convicted of fraud against the American taxpayer.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department uncovered and prosecuted more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/fact-check-no-tim-walz-not-put-somali-fraudsters-jail-way-claims-fact-blamed-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$1 billion<\/a> in fraudulent payments from COVID-era programs, mostly going to those from the Somali community in Minnesota, from which Omar hails.<\/p>\n<p>Of the 87 people charged in the&nbsp; schemes, all but eight are of Somali descent, CBS News host Margaret Brennan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/beyond-pale-ilhan-omar-says-somalis-actual-victims-massive-somali-fraud-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pointed out<\/a> during an interview with Omar on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>For example, acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick said in a March <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-mn\/pr\/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>&nbsp;that &ldquo;Aimee Bock and Salim Said took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to carry out a massive fraud scheme that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/minnesota-nonprofit-leader-convicted-in-covid-19-fraud-scheme\/\" title=\"... nonprofit leader ... in COVID...19 fraud ...\">stole money meant<\/a> to feed children.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The defendants falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which they fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds. That money did not go to feed kids. Instead, it was used to fund their lavish lifestyles. Today&rsquo;s verdict sends a message to the community that fraud against the government will not be tolerated,&rdquo; the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Nagel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/omar-accused-gop-opponent-opening-up-door-massive-minneapolis-fraud-deep-deep-ties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> Fox News that the &ldquo;Feeding Our Future&rdquo; program at the center of the scandal came about as a result of the 2020 MEALS Act, introduced by Omar and passed with bipartisan support.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you look at where the fraud is, it&rsquo;s primarily her [5th Congressional District], the district that I&rsquo;m running in against her. And it&rsquo;s really odd to think that you know all the fraud just happened in a particular area, and it was a bill that she, you know, particularly put together,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ilhan Omar. Crafted the legislation for the programs. She associated with many of the convicted fraudsters. FBI evidence shows s from her office to convicted fraudsters. Somalilanders say to speak out against llhan Omar brought threats against them. Which kept much of her&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fvuQ6DRuPY\">https:\/\/t.co\/fvuQ6DRuPY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; John Nagel for Congress MN-5 (@Nagel4Congress) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nagel4Congress\/status\/1999293029362909228?\">December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Fox reported, &ldquo;Members of Omar&rsquo;s inner circle personally profited from the $1 billion welfare fraud scandal in her district that has placed her Somali constituency under a White House microscope, Nagel said. He also said that Omar held events at one of the restaurants, Safari Land, which was named in the fraud case, knew one of its now-convicted owners and had a staffer who was also convicted.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you look at the Safari Land restaurant, if you&rsquo;re gonna be in politics, you need to go through the people at the Safari Land restaurant,&rdquo; Nagel said. &ldquo;They kind of control the politics. She had all of her fundraising things. I mean, that was sort of her hangout. That&rsquo;s where she spent money, got donations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>According to the Justice Department, Salim Said is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-mn\/pr\/four-more-defendants-plead-guilty-250-million-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">co-owner of the Safari Land<\/a> restaurant.<\/p>\n<p>Further, Guhaad Hashi Said, &ldquo;sometimes referred to as an &lsquo;enforcer&rsquo; for Omar&rsquo;s campaign, is one of the over 70 people who have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-mn\/pr\/guhaad-hashi-said-pleads-guilty-his-involvement-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indicted<\/a> for his role in the Feeding Our Future scandal,&rdquo; Fox noted.<\/p>\n<p>Nagel asserted, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of really deep, deep ties.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think time will tell with the investigation,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;But again, there&rsquo;s just too much circumstantial evidence to look at this and say, she had to have known something, or what staff member knew something?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A whole lot of people that were convicted donated a whole lot of money. Omar says that she gave the money back,&rdquo; Nagel highlighted. &ldquo;Well, if you go into public records, she gave some money back, but there&rsquo;s a whole lot more money there that she didn&rsquo;t report. And I think if people were just to go through the everyday records that are out there, you&rsquo;ll find out that her involvement in the money that she has is questionable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Brennan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/beyond-pale-ilhan-omar-says-somalis-actual-victims-massive-somali-fraud-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asked<\/a> Omar on Sunday, &ldquo;Why do you think this fraud was allowed to get so widespread?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I want to say, you know, this also has an impact on Somalis, because we are also taxpayers in Minnesota,&rdquo; the lawmaker replied.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IlhanMN?\">@IlhanMN<\/a> says Somalis in Minnesota are actually the victims of the massive fraud scandal in which 91% of the perpetrators are of Somali descent: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been really frustrating!&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/T5ODvFjYe1\">pic.twitter.com\/T5ODvFjYe1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/1997698086366577008?\">December 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We also could have benefited from the program and the money that was stolen,&rdquo; Omar continued. &ldquo;And so it&rsquo;s been really frustrating for people to not acknowledge the fact that we&rsquo;re also &mdash; as Minnesotans, as taxpayers &mdash; really upset and angry about the fraud that has occurred.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican John Nagel, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, claims she has close connections to individuals charged and often convicted of defrauding American taxpayers. The Justice Department revealed and prosecuted over $1 billion in fraudulent COVID-era payments, primarily involving members of Minnesota&#8217;s Somali community, which Omar represents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2520863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-12T233523.055.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4402,34264,5894,68767,68353],"class_list":["post-2520862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-congress","tag-ilhan-omar","tag-politics","tag-republican-opponent","tag-somali-fraud-scandal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-12T233523.055.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2520862"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2520866,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2520862\/revisions\/2520866"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2520863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2520862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2520862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2520862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}