Former nonprofit leader sentenced to 41 years, $243M

A federal judge in Minnesota has sentenced the former leader of a nonprofit at the center of a massive pandemic fraud scheme to 41 years and six months in prison. Aimee Bock, the 45-year-old former executive director of Feeding Our Future, was ordered Thursday to also pay $243 million in restitution to the federal government.

The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel, marks the harshest punishment yet in what prosecutors have described as the single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country. Bock was convicted in March 2025 on multiple counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and federal programs bribery.

Prosecutors said Bock orchestrated a network that fraudulently obtained nearly $250 million in federal funds intended to feed low-income children during the pandemic. The scheme involved fabricating records for approximately 91 million meals that were never served. Instead, authorities said the money funded lavish lifestyles, including purchases of real estate, luxury vehicles, and international travel.

"This is a vortex of fraud, and you were at the epicenter," Judge Brasel told Bock during the sentencing hearing, according to court...