Feeding Our Future leader Aimee Bock testifies she called out 'red flags' in fraud scheme

Seeking to disprove the notion that Feeding Our Future would approve anything, the nonprofit's top executive testified Wednesday that she personally terminated at least 10 vendors and 50 food distribution sites because of suspected fraud or other reasons.

Aimee Bock, who is on trial this month and has been charged with organizing one of the largest pandemic-related fraud schemes in the country, told jurors that she looked into some of the operations after staff members raised questions about suspicious invoices and other "red flags."

"Some of our sites we over-monitored because they were large," Bock testified. "Is there enough food? Are participants coming to pick up the food? Does everything check out and look OK? There would be times when we'd show up and nothing would be happening."

Bock, who founded the St. Anthony nonprofit at the center of a massive $250 million fraud scheme, did not say how many of the 50 food distribution sites were terminated for suspected fraud. She acknowledged that many of the meal sites were terminated in April 2021 because they were no longer needed as the pandemic wound down and children returned to school. She said others left to join another sponsoring organization.

This is the fifth week of testimony in the trial of Bock and Salim Said, co-owner of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, which was one of the largest beneficiaries of the fraud scheme. Prosecutors allege that Bock was the ringleader of the large pay-for-play scheme to steal federal reimbursements meant to fund meals for low-income children after school and during the summer. Instead, they say, defendants used the money to buy luxury homes, cars and other items to enrich themselves.

As a "sponsor," Feeding Our Future oversaw paperwork and federal reimbursements to nearly 300 food distribution sites.

Bock, who has denied any wrongdoing since the FBI raided her Rosemount home and offices three years ago, started testifying in her defense last Friday and resumed answering questions Wednesday.

Over four weeks, prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses to the stand to prove their case that Bock knew about the ballooning fraud scheme that has led to charges against 69 other people, and that she pocketed more than $1 million herself from it.

Most of the evidence against Bock remains circumstantial, with prosecutors arguing that she must have known that food sites were submitting fraudulent claims because backup documents were so obviously phony.

During her testimony Wednesday, Bock tried to distance herself from the claims approval process, telling jurors that she did not typically review invoices or daily meal counts because that work was left to underlings who managed the claims process.

Bock did not indicate how long it would take for Feeding Our Future to conduct an internal investigation, though she testified that the nonprofit canceled some sites within a month or two of an initial concern.

"If at any point in this process there were red flags, they would be brought to their manager's attention," said Bock, noting she had five different mangers at her nonprofit. "If managers thought it was something they couldn't handle, it would be brought to my desk."

Dispute over kickbacks

A handful of witnesses have directly tied Bock to the criminal enterprise, instructing them how to inflate reimbursement claims and threatening them with kickbacks. For instance, Hanna Marekegn, owner of Brava Café in Minneapolis, testified that Bock demanded $1.5 million in cash in 2021 to approve a fraudulent invoice totaling $3.1 million and terminated her contract when she refused to cooperate.

Bock's lawyer Kenneth Udoibok asked her Wednesday if she asked for $1.5 million and Bock responded "absolutely not." Bock denied meeting with Marekegn to discuss the invoice or asking for a bribe.

Bock blames much of the fraud on one of her top former administrators, Abdikerm Eidleh, calling him a "horrible person." Eidleh, who has been charged with federal programs bribery for allegedly shaking down several site operators, fled the U.S. and remains a fugitive.

According to testimony from FBI accountants, Bock received $1.9 million in the scheme, including the money she funneled to former boyfriend, Malcolm Watson. Prosecutors also presented evidence indicating Bock lied to state officials to keep the fraud rolling in late 2021.

Said and the organizations he created collectively received more than $44 million in federal funds and an FBI accountant testified Said personally earned $5.9 million. A secret FBI camera revealed that no one showed up on days in which thousands of children supposedly received meals.

Bock will continue testifying Wednesday afternoon. Prosecutors haven't yet begun their cross-examination.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.