Video taking off 40x its usual first day

Salim Said gets 30 years in Feeding Our Future fraud

FOX 9's courtroom report recounts Said's apology, competing sentencing requests and a judge's warning about damage to public trust.

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FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul Story of October 29, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 87,405 views a day, 40 times a normal first day on this channel (2,174).

Minnesota fraud: Inside Salim Said's Feeding our Future sentencing hearing

Things we can learn from the video

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0:00Said receives 30 years in prison and an order to pay more than $44 million in restitution.
1:10The defense emphasizes Said's difficult upbringing and flight from Somalia in arguing for leniency.
2:40Said apologizes to the court and promises not to break the law again.
3:25The judge addresses how large-scale fraud damages public trust in government.
4:30The sentence falls between prosecutors' request for 40 years and the defense's request for twelve.

FOX 9 reporter Emily Pofahl brings the arguments inside Salim Said's sentencing hearing into focus: the defense's appeal for leniency, Said's expression of remorse and the judge's concern that large-scale fraud undermines trust in government.

Said was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $44 million in restitution for his role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. The case involved money intended to feed children during the pandemic.

Reporting on FOX 9 All Day, Pofahl describes a wide gap between the two sides' requests. Prosecutors sought four decades in prison; the defense asked for twelve years. His attorney emphasized Said's difficult upbringing and flight from Somalia. Said briefly addressed the court himself, apologizing for his involvement and promising not to break the law again.

The judge's remarks extended beyond Said's conduct to the damage fraud does to confidence in public institutions. Prosecutors described Said as a central figure who profited extensively from the scheme.

The courtroom discussion drew about 50,000 views in its first ten hours, already far beyond the station's usual first-day audience for regular videos. FOX 9's shorter reports previewing the sentencing and the prosecution's request also drew unusually large audiences.

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