Woman at center of Minnesota fraud case sentenced to 42 years

A judge on Thursday handed down an extraordinary prison sentence — nearly 42 years — to the former leader of a Minnesota nonprofit who was convicted in a $250-million fraud case that helped ignite an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.

- By TIM SULLIVAN

AIMEE BOCK, center, said in court: "I failed the public, my family, everyone."

(KEREM YUCEL Minnesota Public Radio)

Aimee Bock ran Feeding Our Future, which had claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic. The U.S. Justice Department, however, said she was atop the “single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country.”

“I understand I failed. I failed the public, my family, everyone,” Bock said in federal court.

President Trump used the fraud cases against Bock and many others to initially justify a massive surge of federal officers to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area last winter, leading to a pushback by residents and the deaths of two people.

“Feeding Our Future operated like a cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks,” prosecutors said in a court filing.

Bock long proclaimed her innocence but was convicted last year of conspiracy, fraud and bribery.