The founder of a Minnesota-based charity was convicted Wednesday of hatching a brazen ruse that pilfered close to $250 million in pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed hungry children in need – in what prosecutors said was the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme.
Aimee Bock, the 44-year-old founder of Feeding our Future, was found guilty on federal charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy for recruiting a network of people and organizations to operate as many as 250 fraudulent meal assistance sites throughout the state, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.
Prosecutors said her non-profit took advantage of a COVID rule change that allowed for student meal-assistance programs to operate off school grounds, as well as for the involvement of for-profit restaurants – blowing federal funding meant to feed underserved children during the pandemic on her “lavish” lifestyle.
Her co-defendant, Salim Ahmed Said, who oversaw one of the phony kitchens in Minneapolis, was also convicted after the six-week trial on a mountain of charges for his role in the scheme.
“Aimee Bock and Salim Said took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to carry out a massive fraud scheme that stole money meant to feed children,” Acting US Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick said.
“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.”
Prosecutors said Bock and her 36-year-old accomplice, who owned the now-defunct Safari Restaurant, created fake meal counts, fraudulent invoices, and attendance sheets with bogus names of thousands of children supposedly served daily to secure additional funding from the US Department of Agriculture.
The faulty documents were submitted to the state’s Department of Education, which then administered the funds.
Prosecutors said the fraudsters blew more than $240 million meant for kids on fancy cars, international travel and luxury real estate in Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Kenya and Turkey.
“It was the largest COVID fraud scheme in the country, and what Bock and her co-defendants did was reprehensible,” Kirkpatrick said at a news conference following the jury’s verdict.
“During COVID, while so many were trying to be helpers, Bock and Said were thieves. They used a time of crisis as their golden opportunity to enrich themselves and their criminal partners — outlandishly so.”
At least 70 people were charged in the scheme, and more than 40 others have either pleaded guilty or been convicted. The defendants are being tried in different groups.
Before the latest trial kicked off, a separate Feeding Our Future defendant admitted to witness tampering in connection to bribing a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash, leading law enforcement to heighten precautions and security measures for Bock’s trial.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who was condemned by Republicans for not spotting the fraud sooner, blasted the swindlers for preying on a system meant to care for children.
“We just need to make sure that we put up more firewalls, more security, more ability to make sure that these criminals aren’t able to prey on this,” Walz said.
Bock’s attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, said he plans to appeal the verdict, claiming the jury didn’t spend enough time considering the overwhelming evidence before reaching a verdict. The jurors reportedly deliberated for about five hours.
Bock was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.
Said was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, eight counts of bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and five counts of money laundering.
They are both being held without bail pending their sentencing.
A date has not yet been set.
With Post wires.
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