Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Aimee Bock to 50 years in prison for her role in a $250 million COVID-19-era fraud scheme, while her attorneys are seeking no more than three years behind bars or time already served.
Bock, 45, the former head of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, is scheduled for sentencing Thursday in U.S. District Court. Judge Nancy E. Brasel will preside.
A federal jury convicted her March 19, 2025, of leading a scheme that prosecutors say diverted more than $242 million from a federal child nutrition program intended to feed children during the pandemic.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday, prosecutors called Bock the central figure in a fraud of “unprecedented scale” that has “shaken Minnesota to its core” and eroded public trust.
“Stealing funds intended to feed children is a profound breach of trust that demands accountability,” the government wrote. “The Court must send a clear and unequivocal message to Bock and to anyone who might believe they can exploit state and federal safety net programs that such conduct will be met with the strongest possible consequences.”
Defense disputes loss amount
Bock’s defense team, in its own filing, called the government’s $243 million loss figure flawed and asked the court to impose “a sentence of either time served or no more than 37 months’ imprisonment.”
They argued that sentencing must focus on what was “proven against her” rather than the overall controversy or the actions of every participant.
“This is a case in which the Court must sentence Ms. Bock based on what was proven against her, not on the sheer size of the broader public controversy, not on the conduct of every site operator and vendor who passed through the program, and not on the Government’s most maximal framing of aggregate program loss, given that the Government failed to conduct food analysis to determine the fair market value of the loss,” her attorneys wrote.
The defense contended that Bock was not the fraud’s “mastermind,” saying that government investigators knew some codefendants recruited participants and organized the scheme.
They also argued that Bock directed investigators to records of participants she had terminated for suspected fraud and was among the few involved in the program who took such steps.
“Across the entire COVID-19 food program in Minnesota, Aimee Bock is likely the only person recorded as having terminated or dissociated from people or entities due to concerns about fraud or program integrity,” the defense memo states.
Report highlights political connections
A recent report from the Minnesota House fraud prevention committee concluded that Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar “played critical roles in creating and enabling” conditions that allowed the fraud to occur.
“Feeding Our Future is not only the nation’s largest COVID-era fraud scheme, but it also exposed the mismanagement and negligence of Minnesota’s political elite. At least three leading Minnesota politicians, Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Representative Ilhan Omar played critical roles in creating and enabling the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme,” the report states.
“Their negligence and, at times, outright support for the fraudsters, created a permission structure for future wrongdoers,” it adds. “The result was a climate where fraud expanded exponentially and Minnesotans will be paying for this malfeasance for a generation.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
