Feeding Our Fraud: “I know how to make money”

The prosecution is wrapping up its case against Feeding Our Future founder/executive director Aimee Bock and fraudster Salim Said this week. It has methodically proved up a colossal fraud perpetrated on all of us who fund the United States Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programs by the Feeding Our Future nonprofit and the numerous “sites” it sponsored to participate in the program during the Covid era.

Feeding Our Future founder and executive director Aimee Bock is on trial in this second of the several cases scheduled for trial. Feeding Our Future was the source and origin of the fraud, yet Bock claims to know nothing about it. She was surrounded by thieves and fraudsters, yet the whole thing has come as a great surprise to her. We anticipate her testifying on her own behalf later today or tomorrow.

Also on trial is Safari Restaurant co-owner Salim Said. Said’s restaurant and the Safari group of “sites” constituted the single largest recipient of funds funneled through Feeding Our Future. As I get the gist of his defense from the cross-examination of the witnesses called by the government, his partners may have been fraudsters, but he too knew nothing.

The government will probably rest its case in chief today at the conclusion of the testimony of FBI forensic accountant Paula Roase. Yesterday the government finished its direct examination of Lacramioara Blackwell. Ms Blackwell is also a forensic accountant with the FBI. Having begun her direct examination on Monday, Ms. Blackwell completed her testimony yesterday.

Ms. Blackwell is a soft-spoken and attractive woman. She speaks perfect English with a slight accent that I thought was Hispanic. Alone in the elevator with her at the lunch break, I asked her where she was from. She asked, “You mean originally?” Yes, that’s what I meant. She is originally from Rumania. I found her to be a most impressive witness.

Bock defense counsel Ken Udoibok spun his wheels cross-examining her while the jury seemed to tune him out. Said defense counsel Mike Colich made the point that the bribe checks Said is charged with writing were typewritten or processed, not handwritten. Said will apparently testify that one of his Safari colleagues processed the checks on Said’s account without his knowledge. Did he review his own bank statements? If Said testifies, as it now sounds like he must, we will find out.

Ms. Blackwell “followed the money” that funneled from American taxpayers via the Minnesota Department of Education through Feeding Our Future and its fraudulent free meal “sites.” She subpoenaed and reviewed the bank records to ascertain “the true and final beneficiaries” of the funds flowing through Feeding Our Future. She found numerous “kickbacks” being paid by the “sites” to shell companies set up by Feeding Our Future employees who were supposed to be monitoring the “sites.” She testified that there was no legitimate business reason for these payments. She specifically testified that she found bribes paid in checks signed by Salim Said to shell companies established by Bock’s (fugitive) Feeding Our Future colleague Abdikerm Eidleh.

Prosecutor Harry Jacobs then turned to Bock’s various ventures and self-dealing, beginning with a Burnsville child care center that failed to launch in 2019. Feeding Our Future itself sponsored and operated it as the Southcross free meal “site” until it the assets of the child care center were purchased for $310,000 from Bock by owners of the Safari Restaurant in 2021. It continued as a program “site.”

The prosecution explored Bock’s “fundraising” on her own behalf. Various of the Feeding Our Future sites each paid her $2800 for “policy” or “policy pro,” according to the memo line of the checks. Bock established the nonprofit School Age Consultants in December 2021, just before the fraud was crashed by the FBI the following month. Ken Udoibok implied on cross-examination that the payments represented purchases of a manual that Bock had devoted great effort to writing. I waited for him to introduce a copy, but one never materialized. Perhaps he is saving it for Bock’s testimony.

Bock also set up a GoFundMe page with the Feeding Our Future logo. She raised $73,985 on the page with a little help from her friends — operators of the “sites” or others connected to them. Actually, all the contributions derived from such donors. Salim Said was particularly generous. He contributed $6,000.

Bock taunted no-good boyfriend Empress Watson: “I know how to make money. You say you do to [sic], but have never once shown it. Why? Is there a reason you won’t do what needs to get done to get ahead?”

Star Tribune reporter Jeff Meitrodt covers the Bock self-dealing aspect of Ms. Blackwell’s testimony in detail here. Of the many who profited monetarily from the Feeding Our Future fraud, however, Bock appears to be the least among them. Her compensation came mostly in intangible form.

Although few members of the public have attended the trial, there is intense local interest in this case. KSTP’s Eric Rasmussen is one of the six or seven local reporters in court covering it. I came across Rasmussen’s Monday story on X and thought some readers might find it of interest. My Alpha News colleague Jenna Gloeb has more on this angle of the case here.

Never forget that this happened on Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan’s watch

It is my strong belief that this was by design. A scheme to kickback money to the non-profits who help elect Democrats and to also redistribute wealth pic.twitter.com/6eyzYQplYv

— AK Kamara (@realakkamara) March 4, 2025

UPDATE: Trial has been canceled today on account of adverse weather conditions. My anticipation of the trial timeline above needs to be adjusted accordingly.