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The alleged “mastermind” behind Minnesota’s $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scandal tied to the Somali community is accused of wielding extraordinary power through threats and what the government described as “fake claims of racism.”
Aimee Bock, who founded the Feeding Our Future nonprofit in 2016, used her growing authority to silence dissent, discourage scrutiny from state regulators and cut off operators who refused to comply, prosecutors said.
While other defendants splurged on luxury homes, cars and overseas property, prosecutors said Bock instead controlled the levers of approval and reimbursement that allowed the scheme to flourish.
One witness even recently described Bock as a “God” in how she enforced her authority. Court records show that more than $1 million flowed to Bock’s longtime boyfriend, who appeared in trial exhibits posing inside a Rolls-Royce with Bock standing nearby, underscoring her alleged proximity to the wealth generated by the scheme.
Trial evidence painted a picture of a dramatic rise, with Bock going from running a little-known nonprofit to overseeing one of the largest federal meal sponsors in Minnesota, as she gained influence, visibility and access to powerful political circles.
Aimee Bock, who founded the Feeding Our Future nonprofit in 2016, is pictured on Jan. 27, 2022, in St. Anthony, Minn. (Star Tribune)
For years, Feeding Our Future operated modestly, handling roughly $3 million to $4 million annually in federal child-nutrition reimbursements, according to prosecutors.
That trajectory changed abruptly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when emergency rule changes loosened oversight and allowed sponsors to submit claims without normal verification.
As executive director of Feeding Our Future, Bock approved meal sites, some of which were fake, and then certified the claims, signing off on the reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
She would soon preside over a network that claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which prosecutors say the scammers fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds — a scale of growth that far outpaced the nonprofit’s pre-pandemic size and internal capacity. Later filings and sentencing releases described the total impact as closer to $300 million.
To keep the scheme going, prosecutors said Bock used her authority to intimidate and control operators, approving implausible meal counts and cutting off those who refused to comply.
“Aimee Bock was a God,” cooperating witness Hanna Marekegn testified, according to trial exhibits, which were used to describe how much power Bock allegedly held over the network.
Marekegn was the owner of Brava Café, a meal site sponsored by Feeding Our Future.
INSIDE MINNESOTA’S $1B FRAUD: FAKE OFFICES, PHONY FIRMS AND A SCANDAL HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Government Exhibit BB-51 shows Aimee Bock beside a Rolls-Royce with Empress Malcolm Watson Jr. Prosecutors said the image illustrated the lifestyle surrounding the network but did not accuse Bock of buying the vehicle. (Department of Justice)
Marekegn told jurors Bock had the power to make operators rich — but also the ability to shut off the cash spigot entirely if they did not comply with unrealistic numbers being submitted.
Prosecutors said site operators like Marekegn paid kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employees or intermediaries to avoid being cut off, a system witnesses described as necessary to keep money flowing. Refusing to comply, they testified, meant losing all payments.
Operators also told jurors they understood that rejecting demands, including submitting implausible meal counts or paying kickbacks, would cost them their contracts and leave them with no money at all.
Qamar Hassan, who operated S&S Catering, testified bluntly: “If I say no, I’m not getting any more money.”
The Department of Justice also introduced slides showing emails and communications where Bock accused the MDE of racism when regulators questioned suspicious claims. In 2021, when the MDE grew suspicious and tried to stop the flow of funds, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ordered the state to restart reimbursements — a ruling that prosecutors said enabled the scheme to escalate.
Aimee Bock and houses purchased with the funds (Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office; Department of Justice)
“Bock lied to MDE and falsely accused state officials of racism to keep the money flowing,” one of the slides reads.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutors had shown how she approved 21 meal sites along a 1.8-mile stretch of Lake Street, which together claimed to serve as many kids as there were in the entire Minneapolis school district.
Bock testified that the concentration of sites was justified because several grocery stores in the area were damaged during the George Floyd riots.
“This large area became what’s known as a food desert,” she testified, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis.
A federal jury ultimately found Bock guilty on all counts she faced, including wire fraud, conspiracy and bribery. Her co-defendant, Salim Said, was also convicted on multiple charges, including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering. At least 78 people have now been indicted in the ongoing investigation.
HOW FEARS OF BEING LABELED ‘RACIST’ HELPED ‘PROVIDE COVER’ FOR THE EXPLODING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
Government Exhibit S-12 shows Aimee Bock at a bank counter making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, evidence prosecutors said was tied to the bribery and kickback allegation in Count 40. (Department of Justice)
Court documents revealed that many of those convicted spent their ill-gotten gains on large homes, luxury vehicles and property in Kenya.
However, one witness testified that Bock warned beneficiaries not to spend the ill-gotten gains lavishly.
The only money movement directly tied to Bock in the exhibits was a picture of her making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, which prosecutors said was evidence that she was involved in a kickback scheme by accepting cash payments from meal-site operators in exchange for site approvals and reimbursements.
A series of reimbursement checks she signed for alleged fraud sites were also shown, evidence prosecutors said captured her role as the scheme’s “gatekeeper,” though not a big personal spender.
While prosecutors did not accuse Bock of buying mansions or luxury cars herself, public records show that more than $1 million flowed to her longtime boyfriend, Empress Malcolm Watson Jr., who spent the money on travel, jewelry, vehicles and cash withdrawals.
Watson appears in some of the exhibits. One showed him inside a Rolls-Royce with Bock standing next to him. He’s pictured in another photo standing in front of a Lamborghini, and that exhibit also shows designer bags, jewelry and a white Mercedes-Benz — items prosecutors labeled as “Handy Helpers Spending” to illustrate the lavish lifestyle surrounding Bock’s network.
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Government Exhibits BB-50 and BB-1 show designer bags, jewelry, cash piles, a Lamborghini photo and a white Mercedes prosecutors labeled as “Handy Helpers Spending” to illustrate the lavish lifestyle inside the network surrounding Aimee Bock. Prosecutors made no claim that Bock personally bought these items. (Department of Justice)
Watson has not been charged in the Feeding Our Future cases.
He was charged with six tax-related felony offenses in September for allegedly underreporting his income for 2020 and 2021, failing to file a return for 2022 and failing to pay the income taxes he owed for those years. Watson allegedly owes more than $64,000 in unpaid income tax.
He is currently being held in the Anoka County jail on a felony probation violation unrelated to the tax case.