Minnesota food scheme stole US$250M; 47 people charged

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest fraud scheme yet to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by stealing US$250 million from a federal programme that provides meals to low-income children.

Prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the US Department of Agriculture's food nutrition programmes. Prosecutors say few meals were actually served, and the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewellery.

“This US$250 million is the floor,” Andy Luger, the US attorney for Minnesota, said at a news conference. “Our investigation continues.”

Many of the companies that claimed to be serving food were sponsored by a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which submitted the companies' claims for reimbursement.

Feeding Our Future's founder and executive director, Aimee Bock, was among those indicted, and authorities say she and others in her organisation submitted the fraudulent claims for reimbursement and received kickbacks.

Bock's attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, said the indictment “doesn't indicate guilt or innocence.” He said he wouldn't comment further until seeing the indictment.

In interviews after law enforcement searched multiple sites in January, including Bock's home and offices, Bock denied stealing money and said she never saw evidence of fraud.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice made prosecuting pandemic-related fraud a priority. The department has already taken enforcement actions related to more than US$8 billion in suspected pandemic fraud, including bringing charges in more than 1,000 criminal cases involving losses in excess of US$1.1 billion.

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