Founder and former executive director of Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, finds herself sitting in custody as one of the central figures in one of the ugliest COVID-era fraud scandals in America. A federal jury convicted Bock in March 2025 on seven counts tied to wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, and federal program fraud.
Prosecutors said the Minnesota nonprofit helped drive a $250 million money scheme that stole money meant to feed children during the pandemic. Her sentencing before U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel is scheduled for May 31.
Now Bock has pointed at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), claiming Omar knew about the fraud and helped create the conditions that made the scheme easier to run.
The Minnesota “mastermind” of the state’s massive COVID meal fraud claims “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar was in on the $250 million scam.
Aimee Bock, founder of nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly helping restaurant owners file fake or inflated claims during the pandemic to steal millions in child nutrition funds from the government.
She spoke to The Post by video call this week from Sherburne County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing.
“I struggle to believe that she wouldn’t have known,” Bock said of Omar.
Dozens of members of Minnesota’s Somali community have been convicted of fraudulently billing the state’s Department of Education for millions of meals they claimed they served to low-income children during the COVID outbreak — while pocketing much of the money.
Bock tied her accusation to Omar’s sponsorship of the MEALS Act, a pandemic-era measure aimed at keeping school meals available while classrooms were closed.
Omar has denied wrongdoing and previously called the alleged misuse of food program funds reprehensible while asking for answers from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Adding to her denial will probably be the return of the racist nature of her accusers as her first move. At least in this case, she can’t cry sexism.
Caution belongs near the top because Bock isn’t some neutral whistleblower walking in from the cold. She’s a convicted defendant awaiting sentence, and federal prosecutors have accused her of leaking protected case materials from jail, allegedly to shape the public story before punishment arrives.
A woman facing years in prison has a powerful reason to share blame, spread blame, or move blame anywhere except straight at the person staring back from her mirror.
Fairness, however, doesn’t require blindness; the Feeding Our Future scandal involved fake meal sites, false reimbursement claims, luxury purchases, and money that should’ve gone toward children.
Federal prosecutors charged dozens of defendants, and many have either pleaded guilty or been convicted. The scale alone demands hard questions, especially when court exhibits and state investigators keep circling names, offices, campaign events, and policy choices connected to the same political neighborhood.
State Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove), chair of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee, pushed for a subpoena seeking Omar’s communications related to Feeding Our Future.
The effort failed after Republicans supported it and DFL members opposed it. The committee wanted records tied to Omar’s office, Feeding Our Future, Safari Restaurant, campaign events, and several defendants connected to the fraud case.
Omar deserves the presumption that accusations from a convicted fraudster need proof. Bock’s word alone doesn’t convict anybody in the court of public judgment. Yet Omar also holds public office, and public office comes with a lower tolerance for fog.
Voters deserve to know who pushed the policy changes, who contacted whom, who raised concerns, who ignored warnings, and why a program built to feed children turned into another cash machine for crooks.
Bock may be trying to save herself, while Omar may be innocent of any misconduct. Both statements can sit in the same room while investigators keep asking questions.
Minnesota taxpayers lost too much money, and hungry kids were used as the cover story.
We don’t need more theater; we need records, testimony, and names on the table before another pandemic-era scandal gets buried under political exhaustion.
The Feeding Our Future scandal keeps exposing how much damage pandemic-era looseness caused when oversight collapsed and political allies stopped asking hard questions.
Accusations from Aimee Bock deserve caution, but Minnesota taxpayers still deserve answers. Join PJ Media VIP today and use promo code FIGHT for 60% off your subscription.
