# Judge Brasel *Federal judge quoted by the U.S. Department of Justice at the May 22, 2026 sentencing of Aimee Bock in the Feeding Our Future prosecution.* Judge Nancy Brasel is the judge quoted by the United States Department of Justice in its May 22, 2026 release announcing the 500-month sentence of [[Aimee Bock]] of [[Apple Valley]]. The release's title calls Bock the [[Feeding Our Future]] ringleader.[^1] According to the release, Brasel told Bock: "This was a fraud vortex and you were at the epicenter of it."[^1] The case was prosecuted federally by the United States Attorney in the [[United States District Court for the District of Minnesota]], in [[Minneapolis]].[^1] This record's at-issue items rest on a May 2026 White House release. They set the federal sentence beside the county record. They name the United States as the initiating party, and they find no prosecution of these defendants by any Minnesota county attorney in the public record located.[^2][^1] The record shows an absence of such charges. It does not establish a declination.[^2] The state agency that administered the programs had already been reviewed. In a June 2024 special review, the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] found that the [[Minnesota Department of Education]] "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic."[^3] ## Who The Department of Justice identifies the judge as Judge Nancy Brasel and attributes the sentencing remark quoted above to her.[^1] The sources in this record do not state her appointment, her tenure, or any other ruling, and this article records none.[^1] The defendant, Aimee Marie Bock of Apple Valley, received a sentence of 500 months.[^1] The Department of Justice describes Feeding Our Future as "a nonprofit organization that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program."[^1] Two defendants connected to the largest identified site pleaded guilty on January 28, 2025: the co-owner of [[Safari Restaurant]] and co-defendant Abdi Nur Salah. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota describes Salah as a former senior aide to [[Minneapolis mayor|Minneapolis Mayor]] Jacob Frey.[^4] ## What The Department of Justice's account is that Feeding Our Future "submitted these fraudulent claims to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and then disbursed the fraudulently obtained Federal Child Nutrition Program funds to their co-conspirators."[^1] The release uses the [[Federal Child Nutrition Program]] as an umbrella term and does not name the specific programs.[^1] The Legislative Auditor's review names the two programs as the [[Child and Adult Care Food Program]] and the [[Summer Food Service Program]]. It states that "The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is responsible for administering these programs in Minnesota."[^3] The same review found that the department did not act on warning signs it knew of before the pandemic.[^3] ## When - **June 2024:** The Office of the Legislative Auditor issues its special review, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*.[^3] - **January 28, 2025:** The Safari Restaurant co-owner and Abdi Nur Salah plead guilty.[^4] - **September 4, 2025:** The U.S. Attorney's Office announces the 75th defendant charged.[^5] - **May 22, 2026:** Bock is sentenced to 500 months, and the Department of Justice publishes Brasel's remark.[^1] - **July 28 and August 19, 2026:** Sahan Journal updates its charging and guilty-plea trackers.[^6][^7] ## Where The prosecution proceeded in federal court in Minneapolis.[^1] The Department of Justice states that Feeding Our Future opened "more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota."[^1] The largest identified site, Safari Restaurant, was in Minneapolis.[^4] The project's dossier places that site in Hennepin County.[^4] ## How much The U.S. Attorney's Office states that Safari Restaurant "received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds."[^4] The project's dossier notes that no public source publishes a county-level dollar breakdown of the losses.[^3][^1] ## How many The Department of Justice counts more than 250 sites.[^1] Counts of defendants differ by source and date: - The U.S. Attorney's Office announced its 75th charged defendant on September 4, 2025.[^5] - Sahan Journal's tracker, updated July 28, 2026, reports that "Eighty people have been charged."[^6] - Trackers are internally inconsistent; totals of 70, 75, 79 and 80 appear across sources.[^6] Sahan Journal's guilty-plea tracker reports 68 convictions as of August 19, 2026: 61 guilty pleas and 7 jury convictions.[^7] No conviction count from the Department of Justice is in this record.[^5] ## In the at-issue record This record carries two at-issue items on the sentencing. Both state Bock's 500-month term and Brasel's remark, name the United States as the initiating party, and rest on the White House release with the Department of Justice release as source.[^2][^1] The first item adds that "The state of Minnesota initiated none of it." It also records restitution "in the hundreds of millions." The Department of Justice excerpts in this record do not state a restitution figure, so that figure is not stated here as settled.[^2] The second item adds the count of more than 250 sites. It records that no prosecution of these defendants by any Minnesota county attorney appears in the public record.[^2][^1] The project's dossier is explicit about the limits of that finding. No public source records a declination by the [[Hennepin County Attorney's Office]]. What the record shows is narrower: - the largest identified site was in Hennepin County;[^4] - the prosecutions were federal;[^1] - Sahan Journal counts 68 convictions in the federal cases;[^7] - no Hennepin County Attorney charge against any Feeding Our Future defendant appears in any public record located.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — establishes the 500-month sentence of Aimee Marie Bock of Apple Valley, Judge Nancy Brasel's remark, the federal prosecution, DOJ's description of Feeding Our Future and its claims to MDE, and the "more than 250" sites. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^2]: The White House, *release on the administration's anti-fraud actions* (May 2026) — anchor cited by this record's at-issue items for the federal outcome; its text is not excerpted in the pack. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^3]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — names CACFP and SFSP, states MDE's administering role, and finds MDE failed to act on known warning signs before the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf [^4]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Former Minneapolis Mayoral Aide and Safari Restaurant Co-Owner Both Plead Guilty* (Jan. 28, 2025) — establishes the guilty pleas, Safari Restaurant's location and receipt of more than $16 million, and Abdi Nur Salah's former role as a senior aide to Mayor Jacob Frey. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/former-minneapolis-mayoral-aide-and-safari-restaurant-co-owner-both-plead-guilty-250 [^5]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *75th Defendant Charged in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme* (Sept. 4, 2025) — establishes DOJ's count of 75 charged defendants as of that date. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/75th-defendant-charged-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme [^6]: Sahan Journal, *Feeding Our Future charging tracker* (updated July 28, 2026) — reports 80 people charged; tracker totals vary across sources. https://sahanjournal.com/news/feeding-our-future-indictments-who-charged-food-fraud-minnesota/ [^7]: Sahan Journal, *Feeding Our Future guilty-plea tracker* (Aug. 19, 2026) — reports 68 convictions: 61 guilty pleas and 7 jury convictions; see also the sentencing tracker. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/feeding-our-future-food-aid-fraud-investigation-guilty-pleas/ ; https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/who-has-been-sentenced-feeding-our-future/