47 People Indicted in ‘Feeding Our Future’ $250 Million Scam

(KWNO)- Minnesota’s Attorney General’s Office announced earlier this week that the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Andy Luger, and the Department of Justice indicted 47 people for stealing money from a campaign to help hungry children titled, Feeding Our Future.

All 47 people were connected to Feeding Our Future and of the 47 people indicted, founder and executive director Aimee Bock is one of them.

According to IRS.gov, the defendants devised and carried out a massive scheme to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program. The defendants obtained, misappropriated, and laundered millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for the cost of serving meals to children. The defendants exploited changes in the program intended to ensure underserved children received adequate nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of feeding the children, the defendants enriched themselves by fraudulently misappropriating millions of dollars in Federal Child Nutrition Program Funds.

Federal prosecutors referred to the scam as a “Massive Scheme” where the defendants defrauded the U.S. Government for more than $250 million that was intended to feed hungry children during the pandemic.

Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, released the following statement,

“I congratulate the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Andy Luger on this criminal indictment. The scope of the fraud the government alleges is breathtaking and immoral. The federal government has original criminal jurisdiction over this matter and because the alleged fraud involves federal funds, it is right and appropriate for the federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges. I applaud them for doing so.”‘

Ellison continued, “As the chief regulator of charities in Minnesota, my civil investigation into whether Feeding Our Future broke any of Minnesota’s nonprofit or charities laws continues. I am also continuing to keep a close eye on the dissolution of Feeding Our Future, which is proceeding under court supervision after I asked the court to supervise it. I am also proud of the work of my office in representing the Minnesota Department of Education when it tried to stop payment to Feeding Our Future in court and subsequently first alerted the federal government to the fraud, which led to today’s indictments. I will hold bad actors accountable everywhere, no matter who they are or how well connected they may be. ”