As the trial of Feeding Our Future’s mastermind Aimee Bock heads into its fifth week, courtroom testimony has painted a picture of her as a revered figure in the Somali community who wielded power like a mob boss and used intimidation and political connections to protect what prosecutors call the largest fraud scheme in Minnesota history.
Bock and her associates are accused of siphoning $250 million, meant to feed underprivileged children, into their personal bank accounts. Witnesses have detailed how participants submitted false invoices, collected reimbursements, and kicked back portions of the stolen funds to Feeding Our Future leadership.
Text messages reveal Bock’s tactics
FBI agent Travis Wilmer testified Monday that Bock described her organization as the “mob” in text messages with her colleagues, according to Alpha News board member and PowerLine writer Scott Johnson.
According to messages presented in court, Bock had Feeding Our Future’s attorney contact a site operator who had spoken out against the organization.
“He will call her in the morning. She is going to be terrified,” Bock wrote. “[S]he needs to be handled. It’s on. We may have become the mob.”
Wilmer’s testimony adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that Bock not only facilitated the fraud but also worked aggressively to suppress any internal dissent that could threaten her multimillion-dollar operation.
A hero in the East African community
Hanna Marekegn, an East African immigrant who has pleaded guilty for her role in the scheme, told the jury last week that Bock was viewed as a near-mythical figure among those who benefited from the scheme.
“Aimee Bock was a god,” Marekegn testified, according to KARE 11. “She gave us the American Dream life. We were able to own houses, good cars. We were living very large.”
Marekegn recalled a celebration in 2021 at Banadir Hall on Lake Street, where a group of East African women sang and praised Bock for her role in securing continued funding for the program, KARE 11 reported.
The event was held in response to Bock’s legal battle and ultimate victory over the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), which attempted to cut off funding over suspected fraud.
“When she won, everybody thought no one could touch Aimee,” Marekegn said.
According to KARE 11’s report, Marekegn testified that Bock instructed her and others to call MDE and accuse the department of racism when it tried to stop payments. The pressure campaign apparently succeeded, as MDE ultimately backed down, allowing the funds to keep flowing.
Marekegn admitted under oath that the racism accusations were false.
Political network
The Feeding Our Future fraud operation was not without political allies.
Witness testimony and video evidence have linked current Minneapolis mayoral candidate and State Sen. Omar Fateh to efforts to shield Feeding Our Future from scrutiny.
Marekegn testified that Fateh personally called Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office to advocate on behalf of the program, KARE 11’s report says.
A resurfaced video from June 2021, first reported on by KARE 11 last week, shows Fateh attending a community celebration of Feeding Our Future’s court victory over MDE.
In the footage, Fateh describes his lobbying efforts to Gov. Walz’s office, stating that he was told during a meeting with the governor’s office there was “zero evidence” of fraud within the program.
“I remember Ikram calling us to an event here in south Minneapolis organized by her and Aimee. At that time, we saw a couple hundred of you coming out, speaking out about the stop payments, the money that was being stopped from your reimbursements,” Fateh says in the video.
“I had Dawson immediately take a picture of what was going on and we emailed it out to the governor’s office, saying there’s a whole lot of folks that are being affected right now,” he continued. “Within minutes, they emailed us back saying let’s meet Monday morning.”
However, Walz later contradicted Fateh’s claim, acknowledging that his administration was aware of potentially fraudulent activity as early as 2020, but claimed that a judge ordered MDE to keep the payments flowing.
Then, in a rare move, the Minnesota Judicial Branch issued a statement on behalf of Judge John H. Guthmann, debunking the Walz administration’s claim.
“Judge Guthmann never issued an order requiring the MN Department of Education to resume food reimbursement payments to FOF. The Department of Education voluntarily resumed payments and informed the court that FOF resolved the ‘serious deficiencies’ that prompted it to suspend payments temporarily. All of the MN Department of Education food reimbursement payments to FOF were made voluntarily, without any court order,” the statement said.
During the celebratory event, Fateh denounced MDE’s conduct as “immoral.” He also received campaign contributions from individuals later indicted in the fraud case, Center of the American Experiment (CAE) reported. CAE also published a YouTube video of the full June 2021 event.
Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman also spoke at the event, advocating for Feeding Our Future while his wife, Ilo Amba, was running an alleged meal site that was later shut down by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, KARE 11 explained.
Osman said in the video that he drafted a resolution to “call out” MDE’s tactics and later received a phone call from the former MDE commissioner.
“First thing I said is, ‘yes, state agencies usually target immigrant communities and minority communities,'” Osman said. “But I’m one of those people that pushed back and call it what it is, which is racist tactics.”
“We have to continue pushing back,” he added. “I’m so glad that those of you that are fighting everyday and feeding our kids, we have your back as elected officials.”
Osman and his wife have not been charged in the case. Fateh has said in past media statements that he did not know about the fraudulent activity until search warrants in the case were made public in early 2022.
In the video, Bock also addressed the crowd, accusing MDE of trying “to steal this money from the community.” She was later honored with an award for her “outstanding leadership.”
The prosecution is expected to rest its case this week, after which the defense will take the lead. It remains uncertain whether Bock will testify in her own defense.
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.
