Aimee Bock, the woman federal prosecutors call the mastermind of Minnesota’s largest fraud scheme, spoke publicly for the first time since her arrest in 2022, saying from her jail cell that she wishes she could have done things differently but maintains she is being used as a scapegoat.
“I wish I could go back and do things differently, stop things, catch things,” Bock, 45, told CBS News in an exclusive interview. “I believed we were doing everything in our power to protect the program.”
Bock was convicted in March on all counts related to what prosecutors described as a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal money meant to feed hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic. She now faces up to 33 years in prison and has been ordered to forfeit more than $5 million.
As founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, Bock oversaw a nonprofit that prosecutors say approved millions of meal reimbursement claims for food that was never served. A federal jury found she signed off on every fraudulent claim submitted to the state.
“It was heartbreaking,” Bock said of the verdict. “I believe in accountability. If I had done this, I would’ve pled guilty. I wouldn’t have gone to trial. I wouldn’t have put my children and my family through what we’ve been through. I’ve lost everything.”
Federal prosecutors have charged 78 defendants connected to Feeding Our Future, with more than 60 pleading guilty or being convicted at trial. Most defendants are Somali American, excluding Bock, who is white.
During a five-week trial, prosecutors alleged Bock collected bribes and allowed meal site operators to steal tens of millions of federal dollars, which were spent on luxury cars, real estate and vacations.
“The jury saw overwhelming evidence of what Bock knew,” said lead prosecutor Joe Thompson after the verdict. “She was at the head of the scheme from Day One. She signed every single fraudulent claim that was submitted to the state of Minnesota.”
Bock maintains that state officials should share responsibility for failing to properly monitor the program. She said she relied on state approval for all meal sites and claimed that officials, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, visited meal sites during operations.
“We relied on the state,” Bock said. “We told the state, this site is going to operate at this address, this time, and this number of children. The state would then tell us that’s approved.”
Her attorney, Biruk Udoibok, said state officials were not particularly interested in stopping the fraud because the nonprofit was providing at least some food to an important constituency during significant instability.
“What is a lie is that they were policing this fraudulent activity at any time,” Udoibok said. “They wanted a scapegoat. She ran the only food program in the state, so they pinned it on her.”
A spokesperson for Gov. Tim Walz did not respond to a request for comment. Minnesota officials have defended their actions, noting that state employees first contacted the FBI about implications in the fraud scheme.
The case has attracted national attention as the Trump administration has used the scandal to justify increased immigration enforcement in Minnesota, particularly targeting the Somali American community. Bock filed a lawsuit in 2020 accusing the state of discriminating against Somali applicants to the federal child nutrition program.
Feeding Our Future’s claims jumped from $3.4 million in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021 after federal waivers loosened rules during COVID-19. At its peak, the organization listed 299 meal sites purporting to have served 90 million meals in less than two years.
Federal prosecutors say only around 3 percent of funding granted to Feeding Our Future meal sites was spent on food.
Bock is awaiting sentencing.
