Prosecutors charge 47 ‘pandemic fraudsters’ who fleeced anti-hunger children’s charities
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Prosecutors charge 47 ‘pandemic fraudsters’ who have rejected ‘anti-starvation children’ charities to buy commercial real estate, luxury cars, luxury homes and even coastal property in Kenya’
- Minnesota officials have indicted 47 people in connection with this
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Prosecutors have charged 47 people accused of funneling money from anti-hunger programs during the pandemic — before using the millions to buy luxury items.
The case, filed in Minnesota, alleges that the group stole $240 million by billing the government for meals for children that did not exist.
It is considered the largest fraud claim discovered in a pandemic relief program to date.
The Federal Child and Adult Care Program and Summer Food Service Program are used to feed adults and children in daycare and after-school organizations and spend about $4 billion a year.
Court documents claim the co-conspirators were “courageous” in their allegations to the government.
One of the defendants said he fed 5,000 children a day in a second-floor apartment in Minnesota.
According to court documents, the defendants spent the money on real estate in the US, Kenta and Turkey, as well as on cars and luxury goods.
The Justice Department wants to seize the purchases, which include more than 20 cars, 40 properties, weapons, cryptocurrency and a Louis Vuitton duffel bag.
Aimee Bock, executive director of the non-profit organization Feeding Our Future, is named in the indictment as the leader of the fraud scheme.
Aimee Bock, 41, is accused of knowingly passing on the fraudulent claims for her contractors and causing millions in fraud
The case, filed in Minnesota, alleges that the group stole $240 million by billing the government for children’s meals that did not exist
Andrew Luger, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, announced the charges at a press conference on Tuesday
The scheme reportedly brought in millions of dollars a week as government officials relied on Bock to act as a “watchdog” to stop the fraud.
But those intended to prevent fraudsters from targeting the system were allowed to keep 10 to 15 percent of the money flowing through them.
Andrew Luger, the US Attorney for Minnesota, said at a news conference, “This is a plan that starts with Aimee Bock and Feeding Our Future.”
Bock, 41, has denied charges against her and defended herself and her now-defunct organization in previous interviews.
She appeared at the federal courthouse Tuesday morning and is one of 47 people implicated in six charges and charges.
The charges allege that Bock “exploited” the pandemic to “enrich” her own business and was only stopped when the FBI issued search warrants in January in the case.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison at the time blocked their bid to disband and asked a judge to oversee the group while investigating whether it violated state charitable laws.
Feeding Our Future would provide the Minnesota Department of Education with reports on the number of meals their contractors served.
Those reports would then be sent to the federal government for compensation, and the money would be passed on to the contractors.
During the pandemic, when schools and free meals were closed, reimbursements ran into millions a month.
Feeding Our Future received $3.4 million in federal food aid money in 2019, $43 million in 2020 and $198 million in 2021.
Bock is charged with overseeing a “massive fraud scheme” and filing the reports, even though he knew they were fraudulent.
Two other Feeding Our Future employees were also involved in the scheme, with Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh also being charged.
Hadith Yusuf Ahmed and two other defendants were charged over “criminal information” rather than a grand jury indictment.