Aimee Bock, former head of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was sentenced Thursday to about 500 months in prison, equivalent to nearly 42 years, for leading a $250 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme [1, 2, 3, 4]. The sentencing took place in federal court before Judge Nancy Brasel, who said, "This is a fraud vortex, and Aimee Bock was at the center of the storm" [4]. Bock is 45 years old at the time of sentencing [4].
Feeding Our Future claimed to provide millions of meals to children during the pandemic but actually operated through fake meal distribution sites, fabricated beneficiary lists, and kickbacks to fraudsters, according to prosecutors [1, 2, 3]. Prosecutors described the nonprofit as a "cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks," with "ripple effects... profound" for Minnesota and the nation [1].
Bock was convicted in 2025 on multiple counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery related to the scheme [1, 2, 3]. She admitted in court, "I understand I failed. I failed the public, my family, everyone" [1, 2, 3, 4]. Her lawyer argued for a much shorter sentence, saying she had cooperated with investigators and was unfairly labeled the mastermind, noting that "Two co-defendants are responsible for running the scams" [1].
The fraudulent nonprofit helped justify a Trump administration deployment of federal officers to Minneapolis–Saint Paul last winter, a move that sparked local pushback and deaths, former prosecutor Joe Thompson said, noting the case "changed our state forever" [1, 2, 3]. Former President Donald Trump asserted Minnesota as a hub of fraudulent activity involving Somali gangs and billions of dollars missing [3].
The investigation has convicted dozens, many from Minnesota’s Somali community, and this week prosecutors filed additional charges against 15 others accused of misusing about $90 million in Medicaid subsidies and childcare center reimbursements [1, 3, 4].
Federal prosecutors called Bock’s fraud the largest known COVID-19 relief fraud in U.S. history [3, 4]. Bock was first indicted in 2022 for the Feeding Our Future scheme [4]. The broader case continues with the ongoing prosecution of roughly two dozen defendants.
