A federal judge sentenced Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, to more than four decades in prison after a jury convicted her for a nearly $250 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme tied to the USDA’s Federal Child Nutrition Program.
On Thursday, May 21, the courtroom in Minneapolis listened as the judge laid out the damage behind a scheme that was supposed to put meals on children’s plates.
Aimee Bock. 45. the founder and executive director of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future. was sentenced to more than four decades in prison for her role in a nearly $250 million COVID-19 pandemic relief fraud operation. The case stemmed from a federal child nutrition effort that expanded during the pandemic. allowing federally funded food distribution sites to operate when a nonprofit sponsored them.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. Bock was convicted by a jury in March 2025 alongside her co-defendant. former restaurant owner Salim Ahmed Said. one of 70 people charged in the broader matter. In court, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel told Bock. “This was a vortex of fraud. and you were at the epicenter. ” as reported by the Saint Cloud Times. Bock responded with remorse. saying. “I made mistakes. so many mistakes.” She added. “If I could go back. I would do everything differently. I don’t have the words to express just how horrible I feel.”.
Feeding Our Future had recruited restaurant owners and others during the pandemic to open food distribution sites across Minnesota. Prosecutors said those sites—created and operated by Bock. Said. and others—fraudulently claimed they were serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the scheme was overseen by Bock and Said through “sites under Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship.”.
The plan was tied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal Child Nutrition Program, which provides meals to children in need. During COVID-19. the program’s expanded capacity allowed for-profit restaurants to run federally funded food distribution sites so long as a nonprofit organization sponsored them.
Prosecutors alleged a pattern of bribery and manufactured compliance. They said restaurant owners and other participants bribed Feeding Our Future employees to secure sponsorship for sham distribution sites. Federal funds intended for those sites were then allegedly spent on personal purchases. including luxury cars. houses. jewelry. and resort property abroad.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick said the defendants “took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to carry out a massive fraud scheme that stole money meant to feed children.” She also stated that the pair “falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals” and “fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds. ” money she said “did not go to feed kids” and was instead used for “lavish lifestyles.”.
Bock and Said were charged with multiple criminal counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery, according to court records. Said, 37, was also charged with several counts of money laundering.
The case drew additional attention after an earlier development in 2024, when five people were charged with conspiring to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000. Prosecutors said dozens of other defendants have pleaded guilty, and at least seven others have been convicted.
By the time of this sentencing, the scandal had also spilled into the political sphere. Earlier this year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ended his reelection bid amid mounting pressure on his administration related to the case.
The sequencing of events inside the case is stark: the nonprofit sponsorship mechanism was used to set up fast-moving sites. those sites were said to claim meal service figures quickly. and prosecutors allege the federal funds then flowed into personal luxuries rather than child nutrition. In the middle of that chain. Bock was found to have played the leading role—leaving a federal judge to describe the scheme as centered on her.
For now, the sentence closes this chapter for Bock after the jury’s March 2025 conviction and Thursday’s more-than-four-decade term, at a time when the broader case continues to move through courts with remaining defendants still facing consequences.
Aimee Bock Feeding Our Future COVID-19 fraud Minnesota nonprofit USDA Federal Child Nutrition Program wire fraud bribery money laundering Salim Ahmed Said Minneapolis federal court