Fraud mastermind behind Minnesota child nutrition program scheme handed stunning 4-decade sentence

The founder of a Minnesota food program that bilked taxpayers out of $250 million has been slapped with 41 years in prison for a fraud that prosecutors say took food out of the mouths of hungry kids.

Aimee Bock, 45, was handed the stiff sentence on Tuesday after being convicted of all counts last March – prosecutors describing her as the “ringleader” of the biggest pandemic-era fraud schemes in the country.

Most of the other defendants in the case are Somali immigrants, and the recipients of the aid were meant to be members of the Somali community in Minnesota.

Aimee Bock, the founder of Feeding Our Future was sentenced to over 41 years for her role in the sprawling fraud scheme. Sherburne County Jail

She will also be required to pay $5.2 million in restitution.

Bock and her convicted co-defendant Salim Said falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals, and used the quarter-billion-dollars in federal funds to bankroll their lavish lifestyles, Acting US Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said at the time of their convictions.

Investigators said Feeding Our Future went from receiving $3 million in federal aid to more than $200 million 2021, but when the Minnesota Department of Education started asking questions about the rapid increase, Bock filed a lawsuit against the state agency and the cash kept rolling in.

The taxpayer money was only cut off after the FBI, IRS and other federal agencies executed raids at 26 locations across Minnesota believed to be engaging in fraudulent activity in January 2022.

So far, 79 people have been charged in connection to the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, with more than 60 convictions.