# March 4, 2026 hearing *A House Oversight hearing on fraud in Minnesota, held March 4, 2026, with the governor and the attorney general as witnesses.* The March 4, 2026 hearing was a [[House Oversight]] hearing on fraud in [[Minnesota]]. The project's at-issue record states that the [[governor]] and the attorney general appeared as witnesses and that no [[county attorney]] was called.[^1] The at-issue item draws on the project's dossier section on [[Feeding Our Future]]. That case was a federal child-nutrition fraud prosecution brought by the United States Attorney in the [[United States District Court for the District of Minnesota]].[^2] The largest single identified site, [[Safari Restaurant]] in [[Minneapolis]], received more than $16 million in [[Federal Child Nutrition Program]] funds that the U.S. Attorney's Office states were obtained by fraud.[^3] The dossier places that site in Hennepin County. It records that no [[Hennepin County Attorney's Office]] charge against any Feeding Our Future defendant appears in any public record it located. It also records that no public source documents a declination by that office. The dossier states the point as an absence in the public record, not a proven declination.[^2] By the counts available, the federal prosecution had charged 75 defendants as of September 4, 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.[^4] A news tracker reported 80 charged as of July 28, 2026,[^5] and 68 convictions as of August 19, 2026.[^6] ## When - January 28, 2025: Safari Restaurant's co-owner and a former senior aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey both pleaded guilty.[^3] - June 2024: the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] issued its special review of the [[Minnesota Department of Education]]'s oversight of Feeding Our Future.[^7] - September 4, 2025: the U.S. Attorney's Office announced the 75th defendant charged.[^4] - March 4, 2026: House Oversight held the hearing.[^1] - May 22, 2026: [[Aimee Bock]] was sentenced to 500 months in prison, eleven weeks after the hearing.[^2] ## Who - The governor and the attorney general were the hearing's witnesses. No county attorney was called.[^1] - The prosecution was brought by the United States Attorney. [[Judge Nancy Brasel]] imposed Bock's sentence and told her: "This was a fraud vortex and you were at the epicenter of it."[^2] - The Minnesota Department of Education administered the two programs at issue.[^7] ## How The Department of Justice states that Feeding Our Future was a sponsor in the Federal Child Nutrition Program. According to DOJ, the organization submitted the claims to the Minnesota Department of Education and disbursed the funds to co-conspirators.[^2] The Legislative Auditor named those programs as the [[Child and Adult Care Food Program]] and the [[Summer Food Service Program]], both administered in Minnesota by MDE.[^7] The Auditor found that MDE "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]."[^7] ## Where - DOJ states that the organization opened "more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota."[^2] - The largest identified site was Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis.[^3] The project's dossier places it in Hennepin County.[^2] ## How much - Safari Restaurant received more than $16 million in program funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.[^3] ## How many - The U.S. Attorney's Office reported 75 defendants charged as of September 4, 2025.[^4] - The Sahan Journal charging tracker reported that "Eighty people have been charged" as of July 28, 2026.[^5] - The Sahan Journal guilty-plea tracker reported 68 convictions as of August 19, 2026: 61 guilty pleas and 7 jury convictions.[^6] - Counts differ across trackers, with figures of 70, 75, 79 and 80 all appearing. The figure of 75 is the U.S. Attorney's Office's own count at its date.[^4][^5] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue item ([[At issue 090 - House Oversight held its Minnesota fraud hearing on]]; also filed in the Hennepin package) records the hearing's date and witness list. It sets that list beside the county where the fraud's largest identified site operated.[^1] The item does not establish why no county attorney was called. On the dossier's account, the record documents only the absence of a Hennepin County Attorney charge in located public sources; it does not document a declination.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the anchor document cited by the project's at-issue item AI-090 for the March 4, 2026 House Oversight hearing and its witness list. The item's underlying source is an oversight.house.gov release, which is not in the pack. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — establishes the federal prosecution, the claims submitted to MDE, the more than 250 sites, the 500-month sentence, and Judge Brasel's statement. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^3]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Former Minneapolis Mayoral Aide and Safari Restaurant Co-Owner Both Plead Guilty* (Jan. 28, 2025) — establishes Safari Restaurant's receipt of more than $16 million and the January 28, 2025 guilty pleas. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/former-minneapolis-mayoral-aide-and-safari-restaurant-co-owner-both-plead-guilty-250 [^4]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *75th Defendant Charged in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme* (Sept. 4, 2025) — establishes the DOJ count of 75 defendants charged as of that date. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/75th-defendant-charged-feeding-our-future-fraud-scheme [^5]: Sahan Journal, *Feeding Our Future charging tracker* (updated July 28, 2026) — reports 80 people charged; trackers vary between 70 and 80. https://sahanjournal.com/news/feeding-our-future-indictments-who-charged-food-fraud-minnesota/ [^6]: Sahan Journal, *Feeding Our Future guilty-plea tracker* (Aug. 19, 2026) — reports 68 convictions: 61 guilty pleas and 7 jury convictions. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/feeding-our-future-food-aid-fraud-investigation-guilty-pleas/ [^7]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — names CACFP and SFSP, states that MDE administers them in Minnesota, and finds that MDE failed to act on warning signs before the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf