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Meet Minnesota’s fraud ‘mastermind’ accused of playing ‘God,’ wielding ‘fake’ racism claims in Somali scandal
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The alleged «mastermind» behind Minnesota’s $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scandal tied to the Somali community is accused of wielding extraordinary power through threats and what the government described as «fake claims of racism.»
Aimee Bock, who founded the Feeding Our Future nonprofit in 2016, used her growing authority to silence dissent, discourage scrutiny from state regulators and cut off operators who refused to comply, prosecutors said.
While other defendants splurged on luxury homes, cars and overseas property, prosecutors said Bock instead controlled the levers of approval and reimbursement that allowed the scheme to flourish.
One witness even recently described Bock as a «God» in how she enforced her authority. Court records show that more than $1 million flowed to Bock’s longtime boyfriend, who appeared in trial exhibits posing inside a Rolls-Royce with Bock standing nearby, underscoring her alleged proximity to the wealth generated by the scheme.
BESSENT TURNS UP HEAT ON SPRAWLING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEMES AS TREASURY PERSONNEL DEPLOY ON THE GROUND
Trial evidence painted a picture of a dramatic rise, with Bock going from running a little-known nonprofit to overseeing one of the largest federal meal sponsors in Minnesota, as she gained influence, visibility and access to powerful political circles.
Aimee Bock, who founded the Feeding Our Future nonprofit in 2016, is pictured on Jan. 27, 2022, in St. Anthony, Minn. (Star Tribune)
For years, Feeding Our Future operated modestly, handling roughly $3 million to $4 million annually in federal child-nutrition reimbursements, according to prosecutors.
That trajectory changed abruptly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when emergency rule changes loosened oversight and allowed sponsors to submit claims without normal verification.
As executive director of Feeding Our Future, Bock approved meal sites, some of which were fake, and then certified the claims, signing off on the reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
She would soon preside over a network that claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which prosecutors say the scammers fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds — a scale of growth that far outpaced the nonprofit’s pre-pandemic size and internal capacity. Later filings and sentencing releases described the total impact as closer to $300 million.
To keep the scheme going, prosecutors said Bock used her authority to intimidate and control operators, approving implausible meal counts and cutting off those who refused to comply.
«Aimee Bock was a God,» cooperating witness Hanna Marekegn testified, according to trial exhibits, which were used to describe how much power Bock allegedly held over the network.
Marekegn was the owner of Brava Café, a meal site sponsored by Feeding Our Future.
INSIDE MINNESOTA’S $1B FRAUD: FAKE OFFICES, PHONY FIRMS AND A SCANDAL HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Government Exhibit BB-51 shows Aimee Bock beside a Rolls-Royce with Empress Malcolm Watson Jr. Prosecutors said the image illustrated the lifestyle surrounding the network but did not accuse Bock of buying the vehicle. (Department of Justice)
Marekegn told jurors Bock had the power to make operators rich — but also the ability to shut off the cash spigot entirely if they did not comply with unrealistic numbers being submitted.
Prosecutors said site operators like Marekegn paid kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employees or intermediaries to avoid being cut off, a system witnesses described as necessary to keep money flowing. Refusing to comply, they testified, meant losing all payments.
Operators also told jurors they understood that rejecting demands, including submitting implausible meal counts or paying kickbacks, would cost them their contracts and leave them with no money at all.
Qamar Hassan, who operated S&S Catering, testified bluntly: «If I say no, I’m not getting any more money.»
The Department of Justice also introduced slides showing emails and communications where Bock accused the MDE of racism when regulators questioned suspicious claims. In 2021, when the MDE grew suspicious and tried to stop the flow of funds, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ordered the state to restart reimbursements — a ruling that prosecutors said enabled the scheme to escalate.
Aimee Bock and houses purchased with the funds (Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office; Department of Justice)
«Bock lied to MDE and falsely accused state officials of racism to keep the money flowing,» one of the slides reads.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutors had shown how she approved 21 meal sites along a 1.8-mile stretch of Lake Street, which together claimed to serve as many kids as there were in the entire Minneapolis school district.
Bock testified that the concentration of sites was justified because several grocery stores in the area were damaged during the George Floyd riots.
«This large area became what’s known as a food desert,» she testified, according to FOX 9 Minneapolis.
A federal jury ultimately found Bock guilty on all counts she faced, including wire fraud, conspiracy and bribery. Her co-defendant, Salim Said, was also convicted on multiple charges, including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering. At least 78 people have now been indicted in the ongoing investigation.
HOW FEARS OF BEING LABELED ‘RACIST’ HELPED ‘PROVIDE COVER’ FOR THE EXPLODING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
Government Exhibit S-12 shows Aimee Bock at a bank counter making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, evidence prosecutors said was tied to the bribery and kickback allegation in Count 40. (Department of Justice)
Court documents revealed that many of those convicted spent their ill-gotten gains on large homes, luxury vehicles and property in Kenya.
However, one witness testified that Bock warned beneficiaries not to spend the ill-gotten gains lavishly.
The only money movement directly tied to Bock in the exhibits was a picture of her making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, which prosecutors said was evidence that she was involved in a kickback scheme by accepting cash payments from meal-site operators in exchange for site approvals and reimbursements.
A series of reimbursement checks she signed for alleged fraud sites were also shown, evidence prosecutors said captured her role as the scheme’s «gatekeeper,» though not a big personal spender.
While prosecutors did not accuse Bock of buying mansions or luxury cars herself, public records show that more than $1 million flowed to her longtime boyfriend, Empress Malcolm Watson Jr., who spent the money on travel, jewelry, vehicles and cash withdrawals.
Watson appears in some of the exhibits. One showed him inside a Rolls-Royce with Bock standing next to him. He’s pictured in another photo standing in front of a Lamborghini, and that exhibit also shows designer bags, jewelry and a white Mercedes-Benz — items prosecutors labeled as «Handy Helpers Spending» to illustrate the lavish lifestyle surrounding Bock’s network.
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Government Exhibits BB-50 and BB-1 show designer bags, jewelry, cash piles, a Lamborghini photo and a white Mercedes prosecutors labeled as «Handy Helpers Spending» to illustrate the lavish lifestyle inside the network surrounding Aimee Bock. Prosecutors made no claim that Bock personally bought these items. (Department of Justice)
Watson has not been charged in the Feeding Our Future cases.
He was charged with six tax-related felony offenses in September for allegedly underreporting his income for 2020 and 2021, failing to file a return for 2022 and failing to pay the income taxes he owed for those years. Watson allegedly owes more than $64,000 in unpaid income tax.
He is currently being held in the Anoka County jail on a felony probation violation unrelated to the tax case.
corruption crime,minnesota fraud exposed,politics,minnesota,crime world,robbery theft,police and law enforcement
INTERNACIONAL
Illegal alien’s violent tussle with federal officer leads to multiple charges after suspected Biden-era entry
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The Justice Department filed a criminal complaint this week against a Venezuelan national accused of assaulting a federal officer and grabbing and possessing the officer’s gun while resisting arrest outside a business earlier this month.
Law enforcement officers assigned to the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Task Force, or HSTF, began surveillance near a business in Utica, Michigan, after receiving information that individuals living in the U.S. illegally were working at the site as delivery drivers.
Agents observed a vehicle registered to Arnoldo Jose Marquez-Pulido, 33, who was leaving the parking lot, and they determined he was in the country illegally, according to a press release from the Justice Department.
‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER
Photos of Marquez-Pulido allegedly grabbing the officer’s gun from the criminal complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan. (Department of Justice )
After agents attempted a routine traffic stop, authorities say Marquez-Pulido briefly pulled over before fleeing from officers at a «high rate of speed.»
He then returned to the business location, where he proceeded to flee on foot, the criminal complaint alleged.
An HSTF agent proceeded to tackle Marquez-Pulido after he allegedly ignored the agent’s commands to stop and attempted to enter the business, the Justice Department said in a press release.
During the struggle, Marquez-Pulido is accused of striking the agent in the face with his elbow and reaching for the agent’s service weapon, identified as a «Glock 19» pistol. Prosecutors say he was able to remove the gun from the agent’s holster and briefly wield it before losing control of it as the agent regained leverage.
Additional officers responded and recovered the weapon from the ground. Authorities say Marquez-Pulido continued to resist before being restrained.
The agent sustained a contusion to his elbow, abrasions to his knees and hands and a contusion to his cheek, officials said. A second agent sustained a knee contusion. Both were treated at a hospital and released.
Marquez-Pulido was scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Detroit this week, though prosecutors said they will seek to have him held in custody pending further proceedings.
MINNESOTA DRAGS TRUMP’S ICE TO COURT IN EFFORT TO PAUSE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Residents and federal and Border Patrol agents in California June 19, 2025. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Marquez-Pulido is believed to have entered the U.S. at a San Ysidro, California, port of entry in 2024, without a visa or valid travel documents.
Federal prosecutors said the allegations against the Venezuelan national underscore the dangers that some officers face while seeking to crack down on border security and enforce a hardline immigration enforcement agenda that President Donald Trump has prioritized during his second White House term.
«Some say that enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is unfair because illegal aliens are all harmless,» U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon of the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement. «Today’s allegations break that narrative.
«High-speed flight from arrest, fighting federal agents and grabbing an agent’s gun are not ‘harmless,’» he added. «And what’s ‘unfair’ is the fact that Americans pay the price for dangerous illegal aliens.»
The news comes as DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said assaults on officers have increased sharply and vowed to pursue individuals accused of violence against law enforcement.
Senate lawmakers remain sharply divided over how to proceed with fully funding DHS and ending the shutdown that stretched into its 27th day Thursday.
Immigration enforcement has emerged as a key sticking point for Democrats, in particular, as they continue to grapple over the specifics of a bill to fully fund the sprawling federal agency.
KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday he and most Democrats in the chamber were ready to fund «most of DHS,» including TSA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FEMA and the Coast Guard but not Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency or CBP.
Schumer, for his part, has also accused Republicans in the chamber of blocking the bill due to disagreements over immigration, prompting a heated exchange with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
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«I assume the Democrat leader is aware of the fact that we have tried repeatedly to fund everything temporarily to allow the negotiations over the ICE budget to continue,» Thune shot back.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.
donald trump,politics,immigration,federal courts,border security,senate,congress
El comercio mundial de armas llegó en el último lustro (2021-2025) a niveles que no alcanzaba desde el final de la Guerra Fría. Según el nuevo informe del Instituto Internacional de Investigación para la Paz de Estocolmo, el prestigioso SIPRI, referencia mundial en comercio de armas, detrás de ese aumento hay principalmente dos razones: la guerra en Ucrania, desatada por Rusia con su ataque el 24 de febrero de 2022, y el posterior rearme europeo, intensificado en 2025.
La de Ucrania es la mayor guerra en Europa desde el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y el esfuerzo bélico del país para defenderse de Rusia mueve los números de este informe. Ucrania multiplicó por más de 120 su gasto militar en los últimos años en comparación con el período 2016-2020 y sus compras de armas en el extranjero ya suponen casi el 10% de las importaciones globales de armas, cuando antes de la guerra eran el 0,1%.
Los números de Ucrania se intuían, pero el aumento de su gasto militar no explica toda la subida. Buena parte viene de los 29 países europeos miembros de la OTAN. De una parte esa guerra en Ucrania y de otra la presión de Estados Unidos para que gasten más en defensa les ha llevado a rearmarse como no hacían desde hace más de 40 años. Esos 29 países multiplicaron por más de dos sus compras de armas en el extranjero en comparación al lustro precedente, aún siendo algunos de ellos grandes productores de armas.
Entre los 10 primeros exportadores de armas del mundo aparecen Francia (segunda posición), Alemania (cuarta), Italia (sexta), Reino Unido (octava) y España (décima). Entre los 20 primeros entran también Países Bajos (número 12), Noruega (13), Polonia (14), Suecia (15), Chequia (17) y Dinamarca (19).
Estados Unidos sigue siendo el líder mundial en exportación de armas, pero el aumento de sus ventas a Europa consolida esa posición después de crecer un 27% en el último lustro hasta ocupar el 42% de todas las exportaciones de armas del planeta. Además, y también por primera vez desde el final de la Guerra Fría, Europa es el principal destino de las armas estadounidense. Washington ya vende a países europeos miembros de la OTAN casi el 40% de todas las armas que exporta.
Ese aumento, además, llega cuando los europeos están gastando cada vez más en sus industrias nacionales y algunos países suspendieron la compra de armamento estadounidense. España y Portugal cancelaron la compra del avión de combate F-35 y Suiza dijo que comprará menos de los más de 30 previstos inicialmente. Entre las razones oficiales no está sólo el choque europeo con Donald Trump, sino que el avión podría venderse con restricciones a sus operaciones y sin garantizar un suministro adecuado de repuestos.
España, que fue uno de los que más aumentó en Europa el gasto en defensa el año pasado, con 10.500 millones de euros extra, apenas destina un 5% de ese dinero a la industria estadounidense. En el caso de Alemania, de los 154 planes de compras de armas de este año sólo el 8% se harán en Estados Unidos.
Además, el plan europeo de rearme excluye en parte a empresas estadounidenses o de cualquier tercer país. Los préstamos SAFE de la Comisión Europea (150.000 millones de euros) exige que el 55% de las compras se hagan en industrias europeas.
El aumento del gasto en Europa no es generalizado. Países como Francia o Reino Unido han aumentado en un lustro menos de un punto de PBI su gasto total en Defensa, pero otros, como Alemania, Polonia o Chequia, lo han aumentado dos y tres puntos. Polonia ya gasta en defensa más del 5% de su PBI. A la vez, Italia no alcanza todavía el 2% y España aceptó subirlo el año pasado hasta el 2%, pero se niega a cumplir con el último acuerdo en el seno de la OTAN, donde se exigió que todos sus miembros gasten para finales de la década al menos un 5% en defensa.
El aumento del gasto polaco en defensa llevó a que el país sea el segundo importador europeo de armas, sólo por detrás de Ucrania. Polonia, además, entra por primera vez entre los 20 primeros exportadores de armas del mundo, aunque es de hecho un efecto relacionado con la guerra en Ucrania, pues a Kiev envía el 94% de todas sus exportaciones. El mismo efecto tiene la guerra sobre Chequia, que exporta más que nunca, pero cuyas exportaciones se deben al aumento de importaciones ucranianas.
INTERNACIONAL
Donald Trump afirmó que el nuevo líder supremo iraní Mojtaba Khamenei “probablemente está vivo, pero dañado”
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, afirmó que considera probable que el nuevo líder supremo de Irán, Mojtaba Khamenei, siga con vida, aunque sugirió que podría haber sufrido algún tipo de daño.
En una entrevista con Fox News Radio, Trump fue consultado sobre la situación del dirigente iraní tras su reciente nombramiento. El mandatario respondió que, en su opinión, Khamenei probablemente continúa con vida, pero cree que podría estar afectado físicamente.
“Creo que está dañado, pero probablemente está vivo de alguna forma”, aseguró el inquilino de la Casa Blanca.
Por otra parte, reivindicó la ofensiva conjunta de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán como el cumplimiento de una obligación postergada durante casi cinco décadas por administraciones pasadas.
Durante un acto en la Casa Blanca por el Mes de la Historia de la Mujer, Trump afirmó que la campaña avanza “muy rápidamente”, calificó a Irán como una “nación de terror y odio” y sostuvo que el ejército estadounidense está “haciendo lo que hay que hacer, lo que se debería haber hecho durante 47 años”.
“Realmente son una nación de terror y odio, y están pagando un gran precio en este momento”, insistió en sus declaraciones, expresadas en el día 13 de la operación «Furia Épica“.
Trump emitió en los últimos días mensajes contradictorios sobre el desarrollo de la guerra, al afirmar por momentos que Estados Unidos e Israel “ganaron” frente a Irán y sugiriendo que el conflicto podría terminar “muy pronto”, y en ocasiones que aún existe la necesidad de continuar la lucha para acabar con el régimen.
Trump no respondió directamente a los comentarios del nuevo líder supremo iraní, Mojtaba Khamenei, quien en su primer mensaje tras asumir el cargo prometió venganza y defendió que Irán debe mantener el control del Estrecho de Ormuz.
El aumento de la tensión en la región ha disparado los precios mundiales del petróleo, en medio de la virtual paralización del tráfico de petroleros por esa vía clave. No obstante, Trump afirmó en redes sociales el jueves por la mañana que considera prioritario impedir que el “imperio del mal” de Irán acceda a armas nucleares.
En sintonía con los desafíos regionales que surgen de la escalada en Medio Oriente, el secretario del Tesoro de Estados Unidos, Scott Bessent, anunció que la Marina estadounidense, posiblemente junto a una coalición internacional, escoltará buques a través del Estrecho de Ormuz tan pronto como las condiciones militares lo permitan.
En declaraciones a Sky News, Bessent confirmó por primera vez que Washington contempla operaciones de escolta naval para reabrir este paso estratégico, por donde circula aproximadamente el 20% del petróleo mundial.
“Mi convicción es que, en cuanto sea militarmente posible, la Marina de Estados Unidos, quizás con una coalición internacional, estará escoltando buques”, afirmó Bessent y detalló que el operativo comenzará cuando Estados Unidos logre “el control total del espacio aéreo” y las “capacidades de reposición de misiles de Irán estén completamente degradadas”.
El funcionario añadió que petroleros iraníes y de bandera china han transitado la zona en días recientes, lo que, a su juicio, descarta que Irán haya minado el estrecho.
Tras el inicio de la Operación Furia Épica el 28 de febrero —una ofensiva coordinada de Estados Unidos e Israel contra instalaciones militares, nucleares y de liderazgo iraní, que resultó en la muerte del líder supremo Alí Khamenei— el tráfico comercial por el estrecho se redujo prácticamente a cero.
Según la Agencia Internacional de Energía (AIE), el flujo de crudo cayó de unos 20 millones de barriles diarios a una mínima fracción, obligando a los países del Golfo a recortar su producción en al menos diez millones de barriles diarios. El precio del Brent llegó a rozar los 120 dólares por barril.
(Con información de AFP)
Domestic,Politics,North America,Government / Politics
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