Before joining Sahan Journal, he worked for close to a decade in New Mexico, where his reporting prompted the resignation Again, that falls into the line of what these for-profit companies are doing is outside of the scope of what Feeding Our Future can mandate. Money Meant For Student May Have Gone To Luxury Homes, Car. Prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food nutrition programs. We are in charge of monitoring our nonprofit partners. Founder of Feeding our Future Rosemount, Minnesota, United . Share this: They feed the children. "This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions," said US Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota. Did you witness an incident that you think we should write about? As a result of the raids last month, the FBI obtained accounting documents that Bock and Udoibok say will vindicate her and Feeding Our Future. Bock and her attorney accuse the Minnesota Department of Education of having an ax to grind against Feeding Our Future. Feeding Our Future would then pass the federal money down to its contractorsreligious institutions, non-profits, and other groupsthat were supposed to use the money to feed children. We have to be able to operate, and we cant operate if we dont have a space. Feds investigate nonprofit incorporated by Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman in alleged Feeding Our Future food fraud. 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. Why are we only looking at the profit margins of our small minority-owned businesses?. The attorney general of the United States explained the scope of the scheme. These rosters were fabricated and created using fake names., For example, the government contends, one roster was created using names from a website called www.listofrandomnames.com. Because the program only reimbursed for meals served to children, other defendants used an Excel formula to insert a random age between 7 and 17 into the age column of the rosters.. The alleged fraud was simple at its foundation: Some organizations along the chain allegedly reported serving more meals than they actually served in order to receive more federal money. Her LinkedIn page says Bock has worked as a teacher and for a variety of other nonprofit organizations. Bock was just executive director of Feeding Our Future, which is under investigation for receiving millions of dollars in food aid. She said Feeding Our Futures board of directors signed off on the project. Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock released from custody. The USDA then provides MDE federal reimbursement funds on a per-meal basis. The defendants submitted false invoices purporting to document the purchase of food to be served to children at the sites., The defendants are also accused of submitting fake attendance rosters purporting to list the names and ages of the children receiving meals at the sites each day. (The-CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. Udoibok: Stolen, thats another objection. This is a full-time salaried position. 2023 A nonprofit newsroom dedicated to reporting on Minnesotas immigrant and refugee communities.. Editors note: Why Sahan Journal is reporting on alleged fraud in the federal meals program.. The defendants, prosecutors said, set up a network of shell companies connected to the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding our Future, to exploit the federal child nutrition program, which is designed to provide meals to children from low-income families. pic.twitter.com/1Sf15oxAr9. Three people were charged via criminal information, which can only be done with their consent, meaning they are cooperating and likely to plead guilty: One person was arrested and charged via complaint after the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement: A 49th person was charged on Monday, Sept. 26: A 50th person was indicted, authorities said on Oct. 19: A 49th person has been charged in connection to the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme that took hundreds of millions of dollars from the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendants exploited changes in the program intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic, the governments news release says. Bock and Feeding Our Future filed a lawsuit accusing MDE of denying the site applications due to discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Bock: We spoke with our respective attorneys and reviewed the documents, but no, it wasnt through a realtor. Additionally, the Minnesota Department of Education was given "false assurances" that Feeding Our Future was serving the meals as claimed after the department "attempted to perform necessary oversight regarding the number of sites and amount of claims being submitted," according to the DOJ. We compared other centers that were sold during that same timeframe to make sure that it was a fair market value, given location, size, condition, all of that. Some requirements were waived during the pandemic. Is that a criminal act? Try our monthly plan today. Furthermore, Bock says most of the people targeted in the search warrants work for smaller, immigrant-owned food distributors, but that most of the child nutrition money that flows through Feeding Our Future actually gets spent on food from large chain stores. Feeding Our Future received $3.4 million in federal food-aid money in 2019, $43 million in 2020, and $198 million in 2021. As weve returned to normal, now their size is not that large. The indictments charge Bock with overseeing a massive fraud scheme carried out by sites under Feeding Our Future's sponsorship. Salim Ahmed Said, 33, of Plymouth, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Your tax-deductible donation helps us keep bringing you and every Minnesotan essential, nonpartisan information. Our Wilmar site was delivering meals to children that live outside of Wilmar. The defendants created dozens of shell companies to enroll in the program as Federal Child Nutrition Program sites. Instead, they prioritized their own greed, stealing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funds to purchase luxury cars, houses, jewelry and coastal resort property abroad. Three FBI search warrant affidavits, unsealed last month in federal court, allege that Bock participated in a wide scheme defrauding the federal government of millions of dollars earmarked for feeding underserved children. Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 39, Burnsville, employee of Feeding Our Future. Its still ongoing. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Justice Department on Tuesday announced charges against 47 people accused of stealing $250 million from a federal program designed to provide meals for needy children during the pandemic, CNN reported. That case has since been dismissed. An indictment is not an indication of guilt or innocence. She is also working as an MNCPD Approved Trainer. But both Bock and Udoibok said the circumstances of the Feeding Our Future federal investigation are unusual. Why is nobody asking them where their profit margins went? At least now we know what the government position is.. Instead of feeding children, the money was allegedly spent for personal purposes on real estate, luxury cars, and lavish travel. They specifically take issue with how federal authorities made the allegations against Bock and others public before making any criminal charges or indictments in the case. Her lawyer says documents seized by the FBI will prove her point, and predicts she wont be charged. Were saying that MDE fed the federal government with bad information. Aimee Bock blames a feud with the Minnesota Department of Education for a federal probe into alleged misuse of food aid. These are for-profit entities, and what they do with their money is outside the scope of what Feeding Our Future manages. Feeding Our Future was legally allowed to keep up to 15 percent of the funds it received as administrative fees. Federal prosecutors say they may not be done filing charges in the case. MDE is suing FOF, again, for recovery Weinvite you to learn more about the food program and the financial benefit available to your program. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bock told Sahan Journal during the interview that she hadnt seen the lawsuit yet and reiterated that she no longer owns the daycare business listed at the address. Abdulkadir Nur Salah, 36, of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. She . Coupled that with the fact that it was the week of George Floyds murder. According to the indictment, individual sites submitted fake rosters of children they had fed using fake names and randomly generated ages. Aimee Bock was the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit organization that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program. Here at FEEDING OUR FUTURE, we are driven by a single goal; making participation in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program safe and easy for our community partners. Feeding Our Future went from receiving and disbursing approximately $3.4 million in federal funds in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021, according to DOJ. Mohamud ran the Stigma-Free Willmar site. Why are we only looking at the profit margins of our small minority-owned businesses? Authorities say Bock and others in her organization submitted the fraudulent claims for reimbursement and received kickbacks. If its a conflict of interest, thats a whole different story. Online records show she lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Artan registered Stigma-Free International, a non-profit entity used to carry out the scheme with sites throughout Minnesota, including in Willmar, Mankato, St. Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 39, of Burnsville, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. The defendants claimed to be feeding thousands of children per day, prosecutors said. I dont get to call my electrician and say, Hey, I know you profited off of the work you did for me, how are you spending the money? I dont get to call the Sams Clubs and Costcos that have gotten money for the food and say, What are you buying with your profit? Ghedi created ASA Limited LLC, a site that received approximately $5 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds. Whoops! MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Forty-eight people have been charged in connection to a fraud scheme involving Feeding Our Future a scheme federal officials are calling the largest pandemic fraud in the country. : The following people are named in the indictment United States v. Sharmake Jama, et al: The founder of Feeding Our Future and 46 others have been charged in what federal officials are calling the largest pandemic fraud in the country. No charges have been filed against Bock, Feeding our Future, or anyone else named in the search warrants. Asad Mohamed Abshir, 32, of Mankato, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Four free-food nonprofits are suing the Dept. Unlock our in-depth reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. This is to ensure that nonprofits are serving the right food to qualify for the federal money. Its an unfortunate situation, Aimee Bocks attorney Kenneth Udoibok said when I asked him to address parents and children who relied on the food aid. I like to have a face to look at. Anytime theres a conflict of interest, the people involved in the conflict are removed from the decision. Aimee Marie Bock, 41, Apple Valley, founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future. Bock: Unfortunately, [the Learning Journey] was something that took a decade or more to build. Aimee Bock is the Founder of Feeding our Future, from Rosemount, Minnesota, United States. Feeding Our Future received more than $18 million in administrative fees to which it was not entitled, the government says. The other reality is due to the COVID pandemic, the USDA issued waivers that allow parent pickup as well as home delivery. Its really hard.. The following defendants are named in the United States v. Aimee Marie Bock, et al. . I personally am passionate about making sure kids have the basic fundamentals of life, food. That left me in a position where I was opening a business to serve children who were confined to their homes. Udoibok: I was a prosecutor before. We had no convenience stores. Feeding Our Future may reject a nonprofits application for reimbursement if the documentation shows it didnt provide enough complete mealsfor example if it didnt buy enough milk for the number of children it said it served, Bock said. Subscribe to our channel for compelling and dramatic storytelling, award winning investigations, breaking news and information you can use. Asad Abshir ran the Stigma-Free Mankato site. I havent read it yet, Udoibok said of the charging document. A nonprofit newsroom dedicated to reporting on Minnesotas immigrant and refugee communities others in her organization submitted aimee bock, feeding our future mn claims... 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