The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
In her first interview about the scandal, Bock told CBS News that it was “heartbreaking” to be convicted of wire fraud and bribery — and blamed her woes on local officials.
“We relied on the state. We told the state, this [meal] site is going to operate at this address, this time, and this number of children. The state would then tell us that’s approved,” Bock said, adding that Omar was among the officials who would often visit the meal sites.
“I wish I could go back and do things differently, stop things, catch things,” Bock said from her jail cell.
“I’ve lost everything,” the convicted fraudster moaned, after describing her conviction on all counts on March 19, 2025, as “heartbreaking.”
Bock used frivolous lawsuits and intimidation to stop state officials from looking into the scheme, which spurred President Trump’s administration to crack down on fraud in Minnesota.
But she rejected the Department of Justice’s description of her as the mastermind behind the operation, despite the release of text messages submitted as evidence in which Bock compared Feeding Our Future to the mob.
“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,” Bock said.
Bock also downplayed the value of her ill-gotten gains, despite a judge last month ordering her to forfeit more than $5 million in proceeds from the scam.
“They found minimal jewelry,” she said of an FBI raid on her home in 2022. “I believe it was like two pairs of earrings, a bracelet, a watch. There was some cash there.”
Bock claimed the blame should be shared with Minnesota officials, who she said signed off on Feeding Our Future’s staggering growth from $3.4 million in meal claims in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021.
In 2020, Omar co-introduced the MEALS Act, granting the USDA flexibility to waive certain requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
Omar has denied she knew the food program was being defrauded, while Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has accused the Trump administration of “politicizing the issue.”
Of the 78 defendants charged in connection with Feeding Our Future, nearly all except Bock are of Somali or East African descent.
At her trial, Bock’s attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, claimed Minnesota officials didn’t care about stopping the fraud because the scam was at least providing food to a politically important constituency.
Of the $250 million allegedly stolen, only approximately $75 million has been recovered.
Brock’s sentencing date has yet to be set.
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