A federal jury in Minnesota has convicted two individuals for orchestrating a scheme to steal $250 million from a federal program meant to feed children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The jury on Tuesday heard arguments against Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock and former restaurant owner Salim Said in what prosecutors call one of the largest fraud cases targeting pandemic relief programs. On Wednesday, they returned guilty verdicts on all charges.
The two were charged with multiple criminal counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery. Said was also charged with multiple counts of money laundering.
The case centers on the abuse of the Federal Child Nutrition Program, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative established in the late 1960s to provide meals for children from low-income families during times such as the after-school hours and summer breaks.
When the COVID lockdowns forced schools and child-care centers to close, the USDA waived some of the standard requirements for participation in the Federal Child Nutrition Program. Among other things, the changes allowed meal distribution outside traditional educational settings, in addition to permitting for-profit restaurants to participate as long as there was a nonprofit to sponsor them.
Prosecutors said Bock and Said took advantage of these relaxed regulations, creating a network of more than 250 fraudulent meal distribution sites across Minnesota.
From April 2020 to November 2021, Feeding Our Future falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals, collecting nearly $250 million in federal reimbursements, according to prosecutors.
To support their fraudulent claims, Bock and Said fabricated attendance records listing names and ages of thousands of children who never actually received meals. Prosecutors said the two also created dozens of shell companies to enroll as food program sites, using them to launder stolen funds.
Prosecutors said the pair then disbursed the federal funds to their co-conspirators, who then made personal purchases including luxury cars, houses, international trips, and properties abroad.
Bock and Said are among 70 individuals charged in connection with the scheme. More than 30 have pleaded guilty while five others have been convicted.
The case drew renewed attention last summer when five defendants were caught trying to bribe a juror with a bag of cash in a desperate effort to sway the verdict.
As part of their plan, they drafted written instructions directing her to vote not guilty on all counts for all defendants and to persuade the remaining jurors to do the same. They also compiled a list of talking points aimed at convincing the jury, many of which focused on framing the prosecution as motivated by racism.
The night before the conclusion of closing arguments, one of the conspirators arrived at the juror’s home and delivered a bag containing $120,000 in cash, promising more if she returned a not-guilty verdict. The juror immediately called the police.
