The founder of an infamous Minnesota-based nonprofit convicted of hatching a $250 million welfare fraud scheme was ordered by a judge last week to forfeit her Porsche, designer handbags and millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains.
Aimee Bock, the 44-year-old mastermind behind the Feeding our Future scandal, was found guilty in March on federal charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy in connection to the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme.
Bock, who along with dozens of predominantly Somali co-conspirators pilfered pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed hungry children in need, is awaiting sentencing for her lead role in the scandal.
A federal judge issued a preliminary court order on Dec. 30 compelling Bock, who is not Somali, to give up an astounding amount of cash and several of her prized possessions.
Bock was ordered to forfeit about $5.2 million in funds from her personal nonprofit bank accounts, her Porsche Panamera, some 60 laptops, iPads and iPhones, a diamond necklace, bracelet and earrings, and her Louis Vuitton purse and backpack, according to multiple outlets.
The Justice Department has convicted 57 people and charged 78 defendants related to the Feeding our Future scandal.
Seventy-two defendants are of Somalian descent and five are currently fugitives in Africa, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Aside from buying fast cars and designer handbags, defendants allegedly sent “millions of taxpayer dollars in fraud proceeds” overseas to East Africa and the Middle East, Bondi claims.
The attorney general indicated last month that she expects the “ultimate price tag” of the fraud to be as much as $400 million.
Prosecutors have only recovered about $75 million of the stolen funds, according to the Daily Mail. The Feeding our Future was thrust back into the national spotlight after President Trump fumed about alleged widespread fraud being perpetrated by Somali nationals in Minnesota and independent journalist Nick Shirley reported on day care centers in the North Star State and suggested they may be fraudulent enterprises.
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