Feeding Our Fraud: Guilty | Power Line

The jury in the Feeding Our Fraud trial of Aimee Bock and Salim Said started deliberating at 9:00 this morning. They first had to elect a foreman and then vote on each of 28 counts on which the defendants were charged (7 against Bock and 21 against Said). I thought the jury would be out three or four days. In the event, the jury returned with their verdict finding defendants guilty on all counts within five hours. Judge Nancy Brasel then granted the prosecution’s motion to take defendants into custody. Sentences will be pronounced at a later date, but rest assured. They will be lengthy.

I have posted video of the prosecutors’ post-verdict press conference below. We owe the team seen here a debt of gratitude. I think especially of former United States Attorney Andrew Luger, who brought the original indictments handed up in this case (unseen but there in spirit) and the team he assigned to the case — lead prosecutor Joe Thompson and his colleagues Matthew Ebert, Harry Jacobs, and Dan Bobeir.

FBI forensic accountant Pauline Roase opened the investigation and followed up by compiling the bank records that vindicated Minnesota Department of Education official Emily Honer’s suspicions of fraud. FBI forensic accountants Lacra Blackwell and Sonya Jansma lent a hand. FBI Special Agents Jared Kary and Travis Wilmer methodically followed up in the field.

They all testified at trial. They were all highly credible witnesses. They all deserve to be recognized and thanked along with their law enforcement colleagues who also testified at trial or otherwise assisted. Federal law enforcement authorities honestly pursued this case while the local Minnesota authorities including Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison twiddled their thumbs and hid in the background.

Covering the case I have gotten to know Joe Thompson at least a little. He is an unbelievably gifted, indefatigable, and committed lawyer on the beat of public corruption. At the press conference he called the Feeding Our Future fraud the shame of Minnesota. He minced no words and he knows what he’s talking about. If you have followed along with me in this series on the trial, you will want to take in the video below. It gives you a chance to see him up close and hear him out. He has a message that needs to be heard. (Agents Wilmer and Kary can be seen to Joe’s immediate left as he is speaking in the video.)

I also want to express gratitude to the jurors who decided this case. They did their civic duty over a six-week trial. I watched them during the trial. They attentively listened to the testimony and took in the exhibits. They served with cheerful spirits. Perhaps we will hear from one or two at a later date. I hope they know they have our thanks as well.