Prosecutors have charged 47 people in connection with a multimillion-dollar scheme to steal money from anti-hunger programs during the pandemic – using their ill-gotten gains on luxury items.
The case lodged in Minnesota, claims that the group stole $240 million by billing the government for meals for children that did not exist.
It is thought to eb the largest fraud claim uncovered in any pandemic- relief program, with prosecutors claiming that the co-conspirators were ‘bold’ in their claims to the government.
One of the defendants claimed that he fed 5,000 children a day in a second story apartment in Minnesota.
The indictment names Aimee Bock, executive director of non-profit Feeding Our Future, as part of the federal investigation into the fraud.
Bock, 41, has denied allegations against her, and defended herself and her now-defunct organization in previous interviews.
She appeared at the federal courthouse on Tuesday morning, and is one of the 47 people implicated across six indictments and charging documents.
Well-known restaurateurs and former political appointees for Minneapolis are also embroiled in the fraudulent plot.
This is a developing story