Omar Slams Terror Links in Minnesota Fraud Scandal as 'FBI Failure'

Washington, D.C. – December 7, 2025 – In a pointed rebuke to escalating allegations tying a massive COVID-era fraud scheme in Minnesota to international terrorism, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) declared Sunday that any such connection would represent a profound "failure of the FBI and our court system."

Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, the Minnesota Democrat – whose district encompasses much of the state's vibrant Somali-American community – dismissed claims that stolen taxpayer funds from the scandal may have been funneled to al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda-affiliated militant group in Somalia. "I'm pretty confident" the links are unfounded, Omar said, pointing to ongoing prosecutions and sentences in the case. "If there was a linkage in the money that they had stolen going to terrorism, then that is a failure of the FBI and our court system in not figuring that out and basically charging them with these charges."

The controversy has reignited national scrutiny on Minnesota's Somali diaspora, one of the largest outside Africa, following a series of federal indictments that have ensnared dozens in what prosecutors have dubbed the largest COVID fraud scheme in the country. Since 2022, authorities have charged 87 individuals – all but eight of Somali descent – with defrauding federal child-nutrition programs out of more than $250 million, though the total losses from related schemes involving meals, housing, and autism therapy could top $1 billion. Prosecutors allege that providers, including the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future, recruited children from Somali families with kickbacks and submitted wildly inflated or fabricated reimbursement claims during the height of the pandemic.

Omar, who fled Somalia as a child refugee and has long advocated for her community's integration, was among the first in Congress to call for investigations into the fraud, which she described as "reprehensible." She emphasized that Somali Minnesotans are "also taxpayers" bearing the financial and reputational brunt of the scandal. Dismissing early defenses from fraud organizers that portrayed the probe as racially motivated, Omar noted that the scheme's ringleader was a white woman who exploited available rhetoric to evade scrutiny.

The terrorism angle gained steam this week after President Donald Trump, in a fiery Cabinet meeting on December 2, branded Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and lambasted Somali immigrants for doing "nothing but complain." Trump, who has repeatedly targeted Omar – referring to her and her "friends" in derogatory terms – amplified unverified reports shared by House Republicans suggesting that fraud proceeds were diverted overseas to support al-Shabaab.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appearing on the same CBS program earlier Sunday, confirmed his department is probing those claims but stopped short of endorsing them. "When you come to this country, you gotta learn which side of the road to drive on, you gotta learn to stop at the stop signs, and you gotta learn not to defraud the American people," Bessent quipped, drawing applause from conservative commentators. He added that investigators are examining reports of funds "diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab," though no charges related to terrorism have been filed to date.

Omar fired back at the rhetoric, calling Trump's recent anti-Somali tirade "completely disgusting" and warning that such "hateful" language could incite "dangerous actions by people who listen to the president." She reiterated her stance on the potential terror ties: "There has never been here and there in those accusations. But if that is the case, if money from U.S. tax dollars is being sent to help with terrorism in Somalia, we want to know and we want those people prosecuted, and we want to make sure that that doesn't ever happen again."

The scandal has also drawn uncomfortable questions about Omar's tangential connections to some defendants. Reports indicate she hosted a 2018 campaign victory party at the Safari Restaurant, owned by convicted fraudster Salim Ahmed Said, and that legislation she introduced helped unlock $250 million in the targeted federal aid programs. A former staffer of hers was also among those convicted. Omar has not been accused of wrongdoing and has distanced herself from the perpetrators, insisting the fraud exploited systemic vulnerabilities in pandemic relief efforts rather than reflecting on her community as a whole.

Critics on the right, including outlets like RedState and The Gateway Pundit, have seized on these links to accuse Omar of downplaying the scandal and "gaslighting" the public. Meanwhile, supporters and community advocates, echoed in pieces from The Guardian and USA Today, decry the narrative as a xenophobic "volcano" of controversy that unfairly tars an entire immigrant group amid broader failures in federal oversight.

As the Treasury's investigation unfolds, the case underscores lingering fault lines in America's pandemic response: billions lost to fraud, communities under siege by stereotypes, and a political divide over accountability. For Somali Minnesotans, the stakes feel personal – a reminder that integration remains a battleground in the heartland. Omar's words Sunday served as both shield and call to action: prosecute the guilty, but don't let prejudice define the innocent.