Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future Fraud Scandal Reveals Lavish Spending of Stolen Federal Funds

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Feeding Our Future fraud case stands as the most egregious example of taxpayer abuse in Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal. Court exhibits recently obtained by Fox News Digital show how the program’s director enabled a network that diverted millions in federal nutrition funds to finance mansions, luxury vehicles, and extravagant lifestyles.

At the center of the scheme was Aimee Bock, founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, an organization tasked with ensuring children didn’t go hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bock oversaw a network that falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals, fraudulently receiving nearly $250 million in federal funds.

In March 2025, a federal jury convicted Bock of wire fraud, conspiracy, and bribery for her role in the operation. Prosecutors labeled her the “mastermind” of the scheme, which has now resulted in indictments against at least 78 people.

While Bock primarily served as the operation’s gatekeeper—approving sites and signing off on reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)—those in her inner circle engaged in rampant luxury spending with the stolen funds.

Court exhibits from the trial of Bock and Salim Said, a local restaurant owner, reveal the extent of the opulent purchases. Said used $250,000 in misappropriated funds to purchase a large home in Plymouth, Minnesota. Another $2.7 million wire transfer linked to the fraud went toward acquiring a mansion-style office building in Minneapolis that served as headquarters for Said’s company, Safari Group.

The evidence also showed Said purchased a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA and a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado using fraud proceeds. According to federal prosecutors, Said operated Safari Restaurant, a small Minneapolis establishment that implausibly claimed to serve more than 4,000 meals daily to those in need.

Said’s company and co-conspirators established multiple sham meal sites and dozens of shell companies, which collectively received more than $32 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds. His spending extended far beyond the vehicles and properties shown in court, including additional real estate, electronics, and designer goods purchased through companies under his control.

Unlike her associates, prosecutors did not accuse Bock of directly purchasing luxury items with the fraud proceeds. Instead, they said she built and protected the network that enabled others to spend the money. Evidence presented at trial showed Bock making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, which prosecutors linked to a kickback scheme where she allegedly accepted cash payments from meal-site operators in exchange for site approvals and reimbursements.

Court exhibits also included photos of Bock with her boyfriend, Empress Malcolm Watson Jr., standing beside luxury vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce and a Lamborghini. While prosecutors used these images to illustrate the lavish lifestyle surrounding Bock’s network, they made no claim that she personally purchased these items.

According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Watson earned more than $1 million for work done through Bock’s for-profit childcare consulting business and his own remodeling company. Prosecutors say Watson spent more than $680,000 on travel, jewelry, vehicles, and cash withdrawals. Though not charged in the Feeding Our Future cases, Watson faces six tax-related felony charges for allegedly underreporting income and failing to pay taxes.

At trial, Bock’s defense team argued she was merely an unwitting administrator who trusted the wrong people and followed USDA guidelines during a chaotic pandemic period. Her attorneys claimed she believed the meal sites were legitimate and was being scapegoated for systemic oversight failures.

Prosecutors countered with evidence showing Bock personally approved many of the worst offenders, including the Safari network. They presented emails and communications where Bock accused the MDE of racism when regulators questioned suspicious claims. When the MDE attempted to halt funding in 2021, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ordered the state to resume payments, which prosecutors said allowed the scheme to escalate dramatically.

One government slide quoted a witness telling jurors, “Aimee Bock was a God,” illustrating the power she wielded over the network. Multiple witnesses testified that Bock understood the reported figures were implausible but approved them nonetheless.

Although the Safari Group represented the largest single cell in the operation, prosecutors identified more than a dozen additional networks operating under Feeding Our Future’s umbrella. Together, these groups submitted over $250 million in fraudulent invoices, making this conspiracy one of the largest pandemic-era fraud schemes in the United States.