An Apple Valley woman has been charged with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering in the $250 million Feeding Our Future scandal.
“This fraud is outrageous, brazen, and seemingly never-ending,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in announcing the charges. “As Acting United States Attorney, I intend to put the full weight of this office behind rooting out and prosecuting the shocking and unacceptable levels of fraud in Minnesota.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office:
Dorothy Jean Moore, 57, launched two purported federal child nutrition program sites in late 2020 under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. According to meal count forms Moore completed and signed, Moore purportedly served 1,500 meals to children a day at each of her sites, which she purportedly operated out of community churches. Through Feeding Our Future, Moore claimed and received reimbursements, in federal taxpayer dollars, for those purported meals.
At the same time, Moore claimed that she operated a catering company called Jean’s Soul Food. She claimed entitlement to further federal reimbursements for food she purported to provide from that company to her own sites. However, bank records show that Moore used little of the reimbursement dollars she received to purchase food. Instead, Moore used those funds for other purposes, including to purchase cars and fund an enhanced lifestyle.
Late last month, the 71st defendant, Hibo Daar, was indicted after attempting to leave the country. So far, 45 defendants have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the case.
Aimee Bock, the ringleader of the fraud scheme, and her co-conspirator Salim Said, were found guilty by a jury in March on multiple counts including conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud following a weeks-long trial.
