# Aimee Bock *Founder of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future; convicted in federal court and sentenced to 500 months in the pandemic meal-program fraud case.* Aimee Bock founded [[Feeding Our Future]], a nonprofit incorporated in [[Minnesota]] in 2016 that sought and received federal funds to feed schoolchildren during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].[^1][^2] On March 19, 2025, a federal jury in the District of Minnesota found Bock and co-defendant Salim Said guilty on all counts. The U.S. Attorney's release on the verdict put the case at $250 million.[^3] On May 21, 2026, Bock was sentenced to 500 months in prison, as announced in parallel releases from the [[United States Department of Justice]] and IRS-Criminal Investigation.[^4][^5] News accounts rendered the term as nearly 42 years and as more than 41 years.[^6][^7] She filed a notice of appeal on June 17, 2026.[^8] The prosecution was federal from charge to sentence. Charges were announced in 2022 by U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger, and the sentence was announced in 2026.[^1][^4] A Minnesota Time Table row records that the office of the [[Attorney General of Minnesota]], Keith Ellison, filed no independent state charges against her.[^9] ## History Bock started Feeding Our Future in 2016. Before the pandemic, its applications for state grants were turned down amid allegations of mismanagement and abuses.[^1] In July 2019, [[Minnesota Department of Education]] (MDE) staff flagged meal claims they regarded as implausible as early indications of fraud. Former state employees have said Bock pressed staff who questioned the organization's first submissions, and officials began keeping a record of her conduct.[^1] Feeding Our Future's pre-pandemic billings to the State came to about $3.4 million. The IRS revoked its nonprofit tax status in February 2020.[^1] When schools closed and federal aid expanded, the organization applied for funds to provide meals to children. Experienced MDE staff who wanted to examine meal sites have said department leadership held back for fear of litigation. MDE began awarding the organization substantial grants after Feeding Our Future threatened legal action against the State.[^1] Katherine Theisen, a senior employee of the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]], later called the department's response "a systemic failure."[^1] MDE eventually took its fraud concerns to the U.S. [[Department of Agriculture]], and the FBI opened an investigation in February 2021.[^1] State senators of both the Democratic and Republican parties had advocated for funding for the organization or relayed constituent concerns on its behalf.[^1] ## Federal charges and legal proceedings FBI agents raided Feeding Our Future sites in January 2022, and the nonprofit was dissolved soon afterward. That fall, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced charges against 47 former employees and contractors. The indicted total had grown to 70 by October 2024.[^1] Attorney General Merrick Garland, of the Biden administration, called the case the country's largest pandemic relief fraud.[^1] Seven other defendants were tried first, in spring 2024. Near the end of that trial, someone offered a juror $120,000 in cash to vote for acquittal. Five of the seven were convicted on most counts and two were acquitted. All five people later charged in the bribery matter had pleaded guilty by May 2025.[^1] Bock and Said went to trial in February 2025. On March 19, 2025, the jury returned guilty verdicts against both on all counts.[^3][^10][^11][^12] Wikipedia gives the co-defendant's name as Salim Said, while the Minnesota Reformer's headline gives it as Said Salim.[^1][^10] A Minnesota Time Table row dates Bock's conviction to September 2024. The U.S. Attorney's release places the verdict on March 19, 2025, after the second trial opened in February 2025.[^3][^9] The Department of Justice and IRS-Criminal Investigation announced the 500-month sentence for her lead role in the case; it was imposed on May 21, 2026.[^4][^5] Wikipedia records that she was also ordered to pay more than $240 million in restitution.[^1] Local and national outlets covered the sentencing.[^13][^14][^6][^7] The project's at-issue record of the sentence quotes [[Judge Brasel]]: "This was a fraud vortex and you were at the epicenter of it." The same entry records that more than 250 [[Federal Child Nutrition Program]] sites opened across Minnesota. It also records that no prosecution in the matter by any Minnesota [[county attorney]] appears in the public record.[^15] Bock noticed an appeal on June 17, 2026. The record does not carry the appellate docket or any ruling.[^8] Counts in the case change over time. The Department of Justice's May 2026 sentencing release counted 79 defendants charged and 66 convicted.[^4] The project's validated master gives 78 charged and 66 convictions as of June 18, 2026,[^8] and Wikipedia gives 80 indicted and 69 found guilty, 62 by plea, as of July 2026.[^1] Federal proceedings in the case continued after the sentence. On July 16, 2026, the Department of Justice announced that Abdikerm Eidleh had been transferred from Somalia to Minnesota to face 31 charges. The department described his alleged role as "second only to Aimee Bock." Those charges are allegations.[^16] A day before Bock's sentencing, the Department announced a separate Minnesota health care fraud takedown. That takedown included the [[EIDBI]] indictment *United States v. Hassan & Yusuf*, No. 26-cr-00099 (D. Minn., May 20, 2026), which alleges $46.6 million billed and about $21.1 million paid.[^17] ## Responses Before charges were filed, Bock accused state agencies of discrimination.[^1] A report of the Office of the Legislative Auditor found that the threat of "negative press" had affected the State's regulation. Kayseh Magan, formerly a fraud investigator in the Attorney General's office, suggested that agencies hesitated for fear of political backlash or of appearing prejudiced.[^1] In 2023, the Legislature created an [[Office of Inspector General]] within MDE and described it as holding the "investigatory power" that had been missing during the Feeding Our Future case. Lawmakers also raised documentation requirements for social-services providers.[^1] The record shows this sequence: - July 2019: MDE staff identified early signs of fraud. - February 2020: the IRS revoked the organization's tax status. - February 2021: the federal investigation began. - January 2022: federal agents raided Feeding Our Future sites. - Fall 2022: federal charges were announced. - 2023: the State created its new investigative office.[^1] The record assembled here shows no prosecution of Bock initiated by the State of Minnesota.[^9][^15] Citing the Feeding Our Future case, the Trump administration began an immigration operation in Minnesota in late 2025, [[Operation Metro Surge]].[^1] The United States' separate actions against the State are pending and distinct from the Bock prosecution. On January 14, 2026, the Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21. Its title describes the State's apparatus as "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime," and Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified that case as a matter of general public importance.[^18] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds no other U.S. state so described.[^18] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, was convicted in federal court with co-defendant Salim Said.[^3] ### What - Guilty on all counts in the second Feeding Our Future trial; sentenced to 500 months.[^3][^4] ### When - 2016: Feeding Our Future incorporated as a nonprofit.[^2] - March 19, 2025: verdict in the second trial.[^3] - May 21, 2026: sentence of 500 months.[^4] - June 17, 2026: notice of appeal filed.[^8] ### Where - United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.[^3] ### How much - 500 months' imprisonment.[^4][^5] - More than $240 million in restitution, per Wikipedia.[^1] - Loss estimated by the Department of Justice at $250 million or more.[^4] See [[At issue 006 - Aimee Bock 500 months. Judge Brasel This was]]. ### How many - 79 defendants charged and 66 convicted per the Department of Justice's May 2026 release; 78 charged and 66 convicted per the project's validated master as of June 18, 2026.[^4][^8] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Aimee Bock* (lead; History; Federal charges and legal proceedings; Responses), revision 1378053374, retrieved 2026-10-26 — founding, 2019 fraud indications, IRS revocation, MDE grants and litigation threat, Theisen quotation, bipartisan advocacy, raids, charge counts, first trial, restitution, OLA finding, 2023 OIG, Operation Metro Surge, counts as of July 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Bock [^2]: Wikipedia, *Feeding Our Future* — incorporated as a nonprofit in 2016 (Minnesota Time Table row TL-0866). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeding_Our_Future [^3]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Federal jury finds Feeding Our Future mastermind and co-defendant guilty in $250 million fraud scheme* (Mar. 19, 2025) — verdict against Bock and her co-defendant. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million [^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 2026) — sentence of 500 months on May 21, 2026; 79 charged and 66 convicted as of mid-2026; loss estimated at $250 million or more. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^5]: IRS-Criminal Investigation, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 2026) — parallel release on the sentence. https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-to-500-months [^6]: PBS NewsHour, *Woman at center of sprawling Minnesota fraud case gets nearly 42-year prison sentence* (2026) — sentence as nearly 42 years. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/woman-at-center-of-sprawling-minnesota-fraud-case-gets-nearly-42-year-prison-sentence [^7]: Newsweek, *Minnesota Fraud Update: 'Mastermind' Aimee Bock* (2026) — sentence as 41 years. https://www.newsweek.com/minnesota-fraud-update-aimee-bock-41-years-prison-11977657 [^8]: Minnesota wiki project, *The Instrument No One Will Name* (validated master, densified June 18, 2026), notes [59]–[60] — notice of appeal filed June 17, 2026, as reported by MPR and Sahan Journal; 78 defendants charged and 66 convictions as of that date. No URL for the appeal filing is in the record. [^9]: Minnesota Time Table, row TL-0930 (dated Sep. 2024) — records a federal prosecution of Bock and no independent state charges by Attorney General Keith Ellison's office; the row cites the U.S. Attorney's verdict release. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million [^10]: Minnesota Reformer, *Aimee Bock and Said Salim guilty on all counts in Feeding Our Future trial* (Mar. 19, 2025) — verdict coverage. https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/03/19/aimee-bock-and-said-salim-guilty-on-all-counts-in-feeding-our-future-trial/ [^11]: CBS Minnesota, *Feeding Our Future: Aimee Bock verdict* (Mar. 2025) — verdict coverage. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/feeding-our-future-aimee-bock-verdict/ [^12]: Sahan Journal, *Feeding Our Future trial: Aimee Bock, Salim Said deliberations and verdict* (Mar. 2025) — verdict coverage. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/feeding-our-future-trial-aimee-bock-salim-said-deliberations-verdict/ [^13]: Fox 9, *Feeding Our Future ringleader Aimee Bock sentenced* (May 2026) — sentencing coverage. https://www.fox9.com/news/mn-fraud-feeding-our-future-ringleader-aimee-bock-be-sentenced-thursday [^14]: Star Tribune, *Aimee Bock sentence* (May 2026) — sentencing coverage. https://www.startribune.com/aimee-bock-sentence-fraud-feeding-our-future/601846911 [^15]: The White House, *Release* (May 2026) — anchor of the project's at-issue entry AI-006: 500-month sentence, Judge Brasel's statement, more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites, and no county-attorney prosecution in the public record. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^16]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Successful Transfer of Abdikerm Eidleh from Somalia to Minnesota to Face Charges for Role in Feeding Our Future* (July 2026) — transfer July 16, 2026; 31 charges; role "second only to Aimee Bock." https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/successful-transfer-abdikerm-eidleh-somalia-minnesota-face-charges-role-feeding-our-future [^17]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Minnesota Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in Charges Against 15 Defendants for Over $90M in Fraud* (May 2026) — EIDBI indictment *United States v. Hassan & Yusuf*, No. 26-cr-00099 (D. Minn., May 20, 2026); $46.6 million billed and about $21.1 million paid, as alleged. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/minnesota-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-charges-against-15-defendants-over-90m-fraud [^18]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — title of the release; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime