Aimee Bock, described by prosecutors as the “mastermind” behind Minnesota’s massive COVID-era meal fraud scheme, now claims that “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was aware of the $250 million scam. Bock, founder of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 on charges including conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud for helping restaurant operators and food sites submit false or inflated reimbursement claims during the pandemic in order to obtain millions in federal child nutrition funds.
She made the allegations during a video interview this week from Sherburne County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing, according to the New York Post.
“I struggle to believe that she wouldn’t have known,” Bock said of Omar.
Dozens of members of Minnesota’s Somali community have been convicted of fraudulently billing the state Department of Education for millions of meals they claimed were served to low-income children during the COVID-19 pandemic while allegedly pocketing much of the money, said The Post.
Bock has consistently denied knowingly participating in the fraud scheme, maintaining that she attempted to warn state officials about irregularities.
According to court proceedings, her nonprofit, Feeding Our Future, reviewed reimbursement paperwork submitted by participating restaurants and meal sites before forwarding the claims and distributing federal funds tied to the program.
“The notion that I’m personally responsible for all of it . . . is so frustrating. I’m the only white person out of 80 or 90 individuals [charged in the fraud]. I’m the only one that doesn’t speak the language,” she added.
Omar played a key role in supporting pandemic-era changes to federal meal program rules by introducing the MEALS Act in Congress in March 2020.
