The founder of a Minnesota nonprofit has been handed a prison sentence of nearly 42 years for masterminding one of the biggest pandemic-era fraud schemes in the country. Aimee Bock who led Feeding Our Future, was sentenced on Tuesday after being convicted last year on charges of conspiracy, fraud and bribery.
Prosecutors say she and her co-conspirators falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals to children and pocketed a staggering $250 million in federal funds, according to the New York Post. The nonprofit was described by prosecutors as operating “like a cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks.”
Feeding Our Future went from receiving $3 million in federal aid to over $200 million in 2021. When the Minnesota Department of Education began questioning the rapid spike, Bock filed a lawsuit against the state agency and the money kept flowing. It was only after the FBI, IRS and other federal agencies raided 26 locations across Minnesota in January 2022 that the funding was finally cut off.
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So far, 79 people have been charged in connection with the scheme, with more than 60 convictions. Prosecutors warned that “the ripple effects of her actions are profound, immeasurable, and will have lasting consequences for both Minnesota and the nation,” according to The Post.
5 things to know about Aimee Bock:
- Bock who is 45 was the founder and head of Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota-based nonprofit originally set up to provide meals to children in need, particularly members of the Somali community. Despite running an organization meant to feed hungry kids, prosecutors called her the “ringleader” of a scheme that took food funding away from those who needed it most.
- She was convicted last year on all counts, including conspiracy, fraud and bribery after a lengthy legal battle. Her attorney Kenneth Udoibok had pushed for a sentence of no more than three years, arguing that Bock had provided valuable information to investigators and that two co-defendants were more responsible for orchestrating the scams.
- Bock admitted in federal court, “I understand I failed. I failed the public, my family, everyone.” Former lead prosecutor Joe Thompson responded bluntly outside the courtroom, saying, “Aimee Bock did everything she could to earn this long sentence,” according to The Independent.
- When authorities started asking questions, Bock did not back down quietly. When the Minnesota Department of Education began raising concerns about the dramatic rise in funding, she responded by filing a lawsuit against the state agency which is a bold move that allowed the money to keep coming in until federal raids finally shut it all down in January 2022.
- Bock and her convicted co-defendant Salim Said falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals and used the $250 million in federal funds to fund their lavish lifestyles, according to Acting US Attorney Lisa D Kirkpatrick. Prosecutors said the nonprofit ran a vast fraud network of fake distribution sites, fictitious lists of children and illegal kickbacks, all under the cover of a children’s food program.
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So far, 79 people have been charged in connection with the scheme, with more than 60 convictions.
