Aimee Bock, the executive director of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, speaks out for the first time after accusations the group's partners defrauded the federal government of millions of dollars, Thursday, January 27, 2022 in St. Anthony, Minn. Bock, appearing with her lawyers Kenneth Udoibok and Nancy Hylden, has not been charged. I need to see that it was cereal, that it was oatmeal, that it was something within the parameters of the meal requirements. Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it, Anyone can read, no subscription required, See The state has also sought to cut ties with a second sponsor called Partners in Quality Care, which had supervised some of the nonprofits that worked with Feeding Our Future. Founder of Feeding our Future Rosemount, Minnesota, United . Authorities also took $13,462 in cash and a 2013 Porsche Panamera during the Jan. 20 search warrant operation at Bock's home. I was like, All right. Mr. Stayberg declined to give the friends name. For instance, state officials no longer had to visit feeding sites in person to see whether they were doing what the paperwork said. Based on the groups claims, the State of Minnesota channeled $3.2 million of the federal food aid to the program. Parents were out of work. Prosecutors say he did not make any significant food-related purchases between initiating food operations around March 2021 through September of that year, yet received $3.5 million for food he claimed to have provided through the program. So I began advocating and working to make sure that our children aren't put on a different path. Based on their fraudulent claims, the defendants received more than $40 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds, which they misappropriated for their own personal benefit, including expenditures such as vehicles, travel, real estate, and property in Kenya. Feeding Our Future went from receiving and disbursing approximately $3.4 million in federal funds in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021. No, said Lul Mohamoud, a neighbor in the apartment across the hall, when asked if she had ever seen 5,000 children there. I have never seen any kids going in there.. The owners of Safari Restaurant and their co-conspirators opened additional sites throughout the state of Minnesota, as well as dozens of shell companies. Even if they want to say its inappropriate to hire your boyfriend to renovate your office and pay him this amount of money, Ill take that. The indictment charging Bock also includes charges against three men Salim Ahmed Said, Abdulkadir Nur Salah and Abdirahman Mohamud Ahmed who run the Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis. Aimee! Ms. Crooks said she declined, and was disheartened by the offer. Its really hard.. "The indictment is the beginning of the criminal process," Bock's attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, said in a written statement. and But even after the F.B.I. The indictment says Feeding Our Future also opened its own federal food aid sites in Minneapolis and Burnsville that falsely claimed to serve meals to thousands of children a day, seven days a week. It has scaled back significantly, but during that time, they were one of the few sources of food in that area. Aimee Marie Bock, 41, of Apple Valley, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and federal programs bribery. United States v. Haji Osman Salad, et al., 22-CR-226 (NEB/TNL), charges five defendants with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their roles in the Federal Child Nutrition Program fraud scheme. That was happening simultaneously as Feeding Our Future was growing and needed my full-time attention. "I told everybody in the community, that lady has a heart," Ali said. Partners complained that Feeding Our Future was breaking the rules by initiating contact with its providers, which is forbidden, but state regulators dismissed the complaint in 2020, saying the allegations "could not be substantiated," records show. Bock: If we have an invoice that just simply says breakfast, that doesnt tell me enough. Bock oversaw the $240 million fraud scheme carried out by sites under Feeding Our Future's . Make a gift of any amount today to support this resource for everyone. Anytime theres a conflict of interest, the people involved in the conflict are removed from the decision. Sams Club, Costco, and Aldi get by far the largest chunk of the money. To read that all of my hard work is being twisted into something that its not is hard. The FBI didnt have enough time to investigate. If the government said in an affidavit, Judge, theres $600,000 from Feeding Our Future to a company run by her boyfriend, they would still get the warrant. The defendants were charged with crimes including wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and bribery. If the allegation was there is a deposit of $310,000 in the account that is unaccounted for, thats a fair, objective statement. Why are we only looking at the profit margins of our small minority-owned businesses? We actually got additional services beyond the scope of what was contracted, but that money was spent legally within the realms of the program. none of the money has been used to feed children"; the scheme is going"; and nearly all $244 million was illegally converted to personal use, according to the FBI. Bock: People seem to believe I give them the money and then its sort of the honor system to go purchase food. But when you say its a kickback, the use of the word is not supported by any evidence. They are charged in a six-person indictment with running a $5.6 million scheme. 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. In theory, the nonprofit groups that fill the sponsor role make sure that feeding sites follow the rules, then hand out federal money to those that do. It's also where Bock met Christine Twait, with whom she would later start Feeding Our Future. These indictments, alleging the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme charged to date, underscore the Department of Justices sustained commitment to combating pandemic fraud and holding accountable those who perpetrate it, said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. I dont recall the date off the top of my head. I dont know where that number came from, he said in a phone interview. Editors picks Luger said that the government has so far seized $50 million in property tied to the scheme, including 60 bank accounts, 45 parcels of real property, 14 vehicles, jewelry and other items. Lily Crooks, a day care center operator in Minneapolis, said she was dismayed when a new sponsor called to recruit her and immediately offered a plan to fool the state. According to court documents, the government has seized more than $3.5 million from a Feeding Our Future bank account and more than $185,000 held in Bock's personal bank accounts. In other filings, Feeding Our Future said it had a three-member board to provide outside oversight of its finances. It revealed a sprawling investigation into Advance Youth Athletic Development and other groups like it and the much larger nonprofit organization, Feeding Our Future, that was responsible for ensuring that the money provided to the smaller groups was spent properly. Find your friends on Facebook. The FBIs Persecution of Sidney Poitier. Meals funded by the Federal Child Nutrition Program are served by sites. Each site participating in the program must be sponsored by an authorized sponsoring organization. When a reporter recently visited the address listed for Advance Youth Athletic Development, there was no sign of a kitchen or a large child care facility. agents at her front door. In some cases, conspirators consulted websites to find names. . Sometimes, this prompts Feeding Our Future to reject nonprofits attempts to access child nutrition program money. In April 2020, Safari Restaurant enrolled in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Altogether, Bock's nonprofit sponsored more than 200 federal food program sites throughout Minnesota, according to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Baune is handling the seizure and forfeiture of assets. We compared other centers that were sold during that same timeframe to make sure that it was a fair market value, given location, size, condition, all of that. Watch more KARE 11 Investigates: Watch all of the latest stories from our. Bock appeared in court Tuesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the USDA relaxed some of the requirements to participate in the Federal Child Nutrition Program, allowing for-profit restaurants to participate and for food to be distributed to children outside educational programs. Cracking down on the misuse of pandemic assistance, the agency says nonprofits in the Minneapolis area siphoned off tens of millions of dollars. Through her attorney, Bock declined to address the reasons for her termination. And if they got one over on us, I will help hold them accountable.. Why is nobody asking them where their profit margins went? She defeated the state That is the myth Aimee created in the community.". All of that had to be built up from the ground. raids, Feeding Our Future was blocked from receiving state food aid. But Bock said her new colleagues strongly encouraged her to bring the kids to one of the company's other suburban locations, explaining that Bock's sons would be the only white children in Burnsville. Feeding Our Future breaks down to 10 percent. The Department of Justice announced today federal criminal charges against 47 defendants for their alleged roles in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. I personally am passionate about making sure kids have the basic fundamentals of life, food. and continued to channel aid through the group while federal agents conducted a nine-month investigation. But on a subzero morning in January, the F.B.I. Meals are handed out at designated sites, which must be sponsored by an authorized organization (such as Feeding Our Future). "The people who were running the sites had been living in Section 8 housing. The federal guidelines say we can spend up to 15 percent of the money this way. Bock: Unfortunately, [the Learning Journey] was something that took a decade or more to build. , Star Tribune It was just the business and the equipment, the stuff inside of it. 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., Todays indictments describe an egregious plot to steal public funds meant to care for children in need in what amounts to the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme yet, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. Jeffrey Meitrodt is an investigative reporter for the Star Tribune who specializes in stories involving the collision of business and government regulation. Neither Salad nor his attorney could be reached Tuesday for comment. 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