U.S. Attorney announces Federal charges in $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme
Nonprofit Feeding Our Future and 200+ meal sites perpetrated the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in U.S.
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Andy Luger, breaks down the charges against Feeding Our Future in a $250 Million fraud scheme.Photo credit (Audacy / Rusty Ray)
3 hours ago
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota has announced federal criminal charges in a massive, $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These indictments, alleging the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme charged to date, underscore the Department of Justice’s sustained commitment to combating pandemic fraud and holding accountable those who perpetrate it,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “In partnership with agencies across government, the Justice Department will continue to bring to justice those who have exploited the pandemic for personal gain and stolen from American taxpayers.”
In a news conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger described it as the largest pandemic fraud in the country, and the charges amount to one of the largest federal fraud cases ever brought in Minnesota.
“This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. “These defendants exploited a program designed to provide nutritious food to needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, they prioritized their own greed, stealing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funds to purchase luxury cars, houses, jewelry, and coastal resort property abroad. I commend the work of the skilled investigators and prosecutors who unraveled the lies, deception, and mountains of false documentation to bring this complex case to light.”
There are 47 defendants who are charged across six separate indictments and three criminal informations with charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery.
According to the charges, the defendants devised and carried out a massive scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The defendants obtained, misappropriated, and laundered millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to children.
Aimee Bock, executive director of Feeding Our Future, was among those indicted. Feeding Our Future utilizes the Child and Adult Care Food Program to increase healthy food access for Minnesota's youth and seniors.
Prosecutors in the case have estimated that Feeding Our Future was reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's child nutrition programs for approximately 125 million meals they did not actually serve.
Luger announced during Tuesday's press conference that the individuals charged were not interested in feeding children at all.
"The subjects in this case, weren't interested in Feeding Our Future, they were interested in gluttony in the way of international vacations, real estate, luxury vehicles, homes, guns, jewelry and electronics," says Luger.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison added his congratulations to the U.S. Attorney Andy Luger and the Department of Justice.
"The scope of the fraud the government alleges is breathtaking and immoral," says Ellison. "The federal government has original criminal jurisdiction over this matter and because the alleged fraud involves federal funds, it is right and appropriate for the federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges. I applaud them for doing so."
"As the chief regulator of charities in Minnesota, my civil investigation into whether Feeding Our Future broke any of Minnesota’s nonprofit or charities laws continues. I am also continuing to keep a close eye on the dissolution of Feeding Our Future, which is proceeding under court supervision after I asked the court to supervise it. I am also proud of the work of my office in representing the Minnesota Department of Education when it tried to stop payment to Feeding Our Future in court and subsequently first alerted the federal government to the fraud, which led to today’s indictments."
According to the information provided by U.S. Attorney Luger:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA waived some of the standard requirements for participation in the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
Among other things, the USDA allowed for-profit restaurants to participate in the program, as well as allowed for off-site food distribution to children outside of educational programs.
Aimee Bock was the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit organization that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The indictments charge Bock with overseeing a massive fraud scheme carried out by sites under Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship. Feeding Our Future went from receiving and disbursing approximately $3.4 million in federal funds in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021.
As part of the charged scheme, Feeding Our Future employees recruited individuals and entities to open Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota. These sites, created and operated by the defendants and others, fraudulently claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed. The defendants created dozens of shell companies to enroll in the program as Federal Child Nutrition Program sites. The defendants also created shell companies to receive and launder the proceeds of their fraudulent scheme.
To carry out the scheme, the defendants also created and submitted false documentation. They submitted fraudulent meal count sheets purporting to document the number of children and meals served at each site.
The defendants submitted false invoices purporting to document the purchase of food to be served to children at the sites. The defendants also submitted fake attendance rosters purporting to list the names and ages of the children receiving meals at the sites each day. These rosters were fabricated and created using fake names. For example, one roster was created using names from a website called “www.listofrandomnames.com.” Because the program only reimbursed for meals served to children, other defendants used an Excel formula to insert a random age between 7 and 17 into the age column of the rosters.
The following defendants are named in the United States v. Aimee Marie Bock, et al. indictment:
Aimee Marie Bock, 41, of Apple Valley, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery. Bock was the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future. Bock oversaw the $240 million fraud scheme carried out by sites under Feeding Our Future’s sponsorship.
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 39, of Burnsville, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future who solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from individuals and sites under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Eidleh also created his own fraudulent sites.
Salim Ahmed Said, 33, of Plymouth, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Said was an owner and operator of Safari Restaurant, a site that received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
Abdulkadir Nur Salah, 36, of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Abdulkadir Salah was an owner and operator of Safari Restaurant, a site that received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim, 39, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Omar-Hashim created a company called Olive Management Inc., a site that received approximately $5 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds.
