More than $250 million in federal child nutrition funds disappeared in Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic, as nonprofits and fictitious sites claimed reimbursements for 91 million meals that were never provided to low-income children.
Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit that sponsored over 250 sham meal distribution sites across the state, lay at the heart of the scheme. Operators submitted bogus invoices and attendance records through shell companies, such as Safari Restaurant, diverting money to purchase mansions, Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces, Porsches, and designer items.
Claims ballooned by 2021, with some sites reporting thousands of meals daily—numbers federal auditors deemed mathematically impossible. Yet reimbursements continued amid relaxed pandemic rules that suspended site visits and documentation checks.
Nonprofit Origins
Founded in 2016 by Aimee Bock, a former daycare worker, Feeding Our Future initially pursued state grants but encountered rejections over financial mismanagement and dubious meal claims. Pre-pandemic issues included poor recordkeeping and implausible service volumes.
The IRS stripped its tax-exempt status in February 2020 for missing required filings. Pandemic waivers then fueled rapid growth in cities like Minneapolis and Rochester, transforming the group into a gatekeeper for fraudulent claims totaling around $240 million, many personally approved by Bock.
Ignored Warnings
State officials at the Minnesota Department of Education raised fraud flags as early as June 2018, deeming multiple sites severely deficient by December 2020. Bock sued the department, alleging discrimination. After partial fixes, a judge held the agency in contempt in June 2021 for processing delays, ordering a $47,500 payment. FBI probes began quietly in February 2021. Legal battles, pandemic pressures, and claims of bias delayed action, allowing the network to expand unchecked.
Empire Collapse
FBI raids in January 2022 across Minnesota shut down operations, seizing records and freezing assets. Prosecutors charged Bock and Safari Restaurant owner Salim Said with wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, and bribery. A Minneapolis jury convicted both on March 19, 2025, after trials revealed systematic theft. Bock was ordered to forfeit $5.2 million; Said was convicted on all 20 counts. Mohamed Jama Ismail, the first sentenced, received 12 years in prison and a $47 million restitution order in October 2024.
Ongoing Repercussions
The fraud spanned Shakopee, Rochester, Lakeville, Rosemount, and beyond, ensnaring 78 defendants—mostly Somali American—by late 2025. Of these, 57 secured convictions through pleas or trials, with additional convictions following into early 2026, including recent cases like Abdirashid Bixi Dool, who allegedly pocketed $1.1 million claiming 40,000 weekly meals.
Figures like Abduljabar Hussein and Zamzam Jama bought luxury vehicles and homes with laundered funds. Federal seizures recovered approximately $75 million, but over $175 million remains unrecovered, complicated by overseas properties in Turkey and Kenya. Witnesses exposed impossible math, kickbacks, and a $120,000 juror bribe attempt.
Federal probes link defendants to Medicaid and autism services fraud, with ties to a Minneapolis city aide who pleaded guilty. USDA funds, administered by the state ,with auditors later calling oversight inadequate, suffered the losses. Governor Tim Walz alerted law enforcement but faced bipartisan reform demands. The scandal eroded trust in aid programs, leaving communities with heightened hunger and scrutiny on legitimate efforts.
This case, labeled one of America’s largest pandemic relief frauds by prosecutors and lawmakers, underscores vulnerabilities in emergency waivers. With trials extending into 2026 and policy debates underway, Minnesota’s overhaul of nutrition oversight could influence national safeguards, ensuring future crises do not enable similar thefts from vulnerable families.