Federal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota in what they said was the largest fraud scheme yet to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by stealing $250 million from a program that provides meals to low-income children.
Aimee Bock, the executive director of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, speaks, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 in St. Anthony, Minn. Federal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts on Tuesday, Set. 2022, in what they said was a massive scheme that took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to steal $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children.
Many of the companies that claimed to be serving food were sponsored by a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which submitted the companies’ claims for reimbursement. Feeding Our Future’s founder and executive director, Aimee Bock, was among those indicted, and authorities say she and others in her organization submitted the fraudulent claims for reimbursement and received kickbacks.
Federal officials repeatedly described the alleged fraud as “brazen,” and decried that it involved a program intended to feed children who needed help during the pandemic. Michael Paul, special agent in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office, called it “an astonishing display of deceit.” The sites that serve the food are sponsored by public or nonprofit groups, such as Feeding Our Future. The sponsoring agency keeps 10% to 15% of the reimbursement funds as an administrative fee in exchange for submitting claims, sponsoring the sites and disbursing the funds.
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