MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury found the alleged ringleader of a massive pandemic fraud case in Minnesota guilty on all counts Wednesday for her role in a scheme that federal prosecutors say stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children in need.
Aimee Bock — the founder of Feeding our Future, the group that prosecutors say was at the heart of the plot — was one of 70 defendants charged in the overall case, said to be one of the country’s largest frauds against COVID-19 relief programs.
The Minnesota case has also drawn attention for an attempt to bribe a juror in an earlier trial and witness tampering in Bock’s trial, which began last month. Thirty-seven defendants have already pleaded guilty, while five were convicted in a group of defendants who were tried last year.
The jury also convicted a co-defendant, Salim Ahmed Said, the owner of the now-defunct Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis.
Bock and Said were charged with multiple counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery. Said was also charged with money laundering. Bock allegedly pocketed nearly $2 million, while Said was accused of taking around $5 million. They both maintained their innocence and testified at trial.
In closing arguments, prosecutors said the evidence showed that Bock and Said exploited the chaos of the early days of the the pandemic by submitting falsified paperwork to enrich themselves and failed to provide anywhere near as many meals to needy children as they claimed.
Defense attorneys did not dispute that there was massive fraud but insisted that their clients were not responsible for it.
Bock’s attorney said she was deceived by dishonest people and tried to cut them off whenever she suspected fraud. Said’s attorney blamed his client’s business partner.
Federal prosecutors alleged that the conspiracy revolved around Feeding Our Future and another small nonprofit that were approved as sponsors of the Federal Child Nutrition Program before the pandemic.
They dramatically grew as the pandemic took hold, and Feeding Our Future went from receiving and disbursing $3.4 million in federal funds in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021. Food sites it sponsored falsely claimed to be serving thousands of children daily, prosecutors allege.
Besides fraudulently obtaining and disbursing more than $240 million in federal funds, prosecutors say, Bock and other Feeding Our Future employees solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from other participants connected with the scheme.
The defendants are being tried in several groups. The first trial was marred by an alleged attempt by some defendants and people linked with them to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. That juror went straight to police. That led to tighter security for Bock’s trial and additional precautions ordered by U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel.
Despite all that, an allegation of witness tampering surfaced midway through the proceedings. A defendant scheduled for trial in August approached a government witness who was due to testify against Bock and Said and asked to speak with him in a courthouse bathroom. That witness declined and instead told his lawyer, who informed prosecutors.
That defendant, Abdinasir Abshir, 32, of Lakeville, soon agreed to plead guilty to a wire fraud charge and to have his tampering attempt factored into a longer sentencing recommendation, which isn’t binding on the judge.
