Key figure in Minnesota fraud case gets nearly 42 years in prison

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A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Aimee Bock, the former leader of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future, to nearly 42 years in prison, following her conviction in a sprawling fraud case prosecutors tied to pandemic-era child nutrition programs. Bock, 45, was found guilty in a case prosecutors described as involving $250 million, with federal authorities saying the scheme helped ignite an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. In court, Bock said, “I understand I failed. I failed the public, my family, everyone,” according to the AP reporting on the sentencing.

The judge handing down the term, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel, told Bock, “This was a vortex of fraud and you were at the epicenter.” Prosecutors had described Feeding Our Future as the centerpiece of a network that they said included a web of partner organizations, phony distribution sites, kickbacks, and fake lists of children. They also said the nonprofit created sites across Minnesota and then submitted claims for reimbursement.

Federal prosecutors said the scale of the case made it stand out nationally during the pandemic. The U.S. Justice Department said Bock was atop what the department called the “single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country.” After the sentencing, authorities also described the case as part of the broader expansion of federal enforcement activity in Minnesota, with the government stating it sent more prosecutors and agents to the state this year.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said, “We will claw back every dollar you have stolen from the American people,” in connection with the sentencing. The case also drew attention from the White House as the Trump administration used the fraud prosecutions involving Bock and others to initially justify a surge of federal agents in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area last winter to target immigrants, according to the AP account.

Pandemic-era changes to a federal child food program created new opportunities, federal investigators said. Under the program changes described in court proceedings, restaurants could participate and food distribution expanded to sites outside schools. Prosecutors said Feeding Our Future exploited those changes by placing the nonprofit at the center of a scheme that they alleged relied on false documentation and coordinated partner activity.

At trial, the AP account also reported testimony that included praise from a witness, who said, “Aimee was a god.” Bock had long proclaimed her innocence, according to the AP reporting, and her lawyer, Kenneth Udoibok, had argued for a sentence of no more than three years. Udoibok told the court that Bock—described as a former teacher—provided key information to investigators and insisted that two co-defendants were responsible for running the scams.

A co-defendant, Abdiaziz Farah, had been sentenced last August to 28 years in prison, investigators said. Farah, prosecutors said, claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children per day, but investigators said the sites turned out to be parking lots or empty commercial space. The AP account also said state auditors found the Minnesota Department of Education received numerous complaints about Feeding Our Future, but that it often told the group to police itself.

As federal officials pressed additional actions after Bock’s sentencing, the AP reporting said charges were announced against 15 more people accused of fraud in receiving federal payments for a variety of social services administered through Minnesota’s state government. The FBI said one man jumped from a fourth-floor balcony to avoid arrest, according to the same reporting, which also noted that Minnesota’s Department of Human Services helped build the cases.

The ongoing investigations were not limited to the Feeding Our Future case. In a fresh batch of criminal cases filed this week in Minnesota, the government said alleged fraud involved $90 million across seven state-managed Medicaid programs, the AP account said. Those charges included allegations involving a childcare center CEO, and prosecutors also alleged Medicaid billing tied to housing subsidies and autism therapy services, including claims that unnecessary or unprovided services were billed and that families were paid to add their names to the program for reimbursement.

The AP account said Inspector General James Clark reported that payments to more than 600 providers have been halted since 2025 because of fraud allegations. It also said Democratic Gov. Tim Walz told reporters in January that he would not run for reelection after being pressured by Trump on theft in programs that rely on federal cash, and it quoted Trump’s prior social media attacks against Minnesota as a hub for fraudulent money laundering activity.

While Bock’s sentencing marks a major milestone in the federal case, prosecutors and investigators signaled the broader crackdown would continue through more filings and halted payments. The development in Minnesota follows a pattern of overlapping federal and state efforts to pursue alleged fraud connected to pandemic-era benefit streams, and authorities said Thursday that they planned to pursue additional accountability as cases move forward.