FBI surveillance footage showed no kids were served at rundown building

Testimony resumed Monday at the Feeding Our Future fraud trial as Aimee Bock’s defense team cross-examined FBI Special Agent Jared Kary about his earlier testimony regarding surveillance footage that contradicted claims that thousands of meals were served at a Minneapolis site.

Kary told jurors that video from an unmarked FBI camera, mounted on a nearby pole, showed no activity at the dilapidated, graffiti-covered building on days when Feeding Our Future reported serving thousands of children.

“It looked like an abandoned building,” Kary said when asked about the number of people coming and going.

Despite this, emails presented to the jury showed Feeding Our Future CEO Aimee Bock insisting that two meal distribution sites operated out of the building, each serving large numbers of children daily.

Prosecutors reinforced their argument by displaying a photo of the ramshackle site, contending that, despite Bock’s claims, there were no visible signs of meal distribution or activity.

Witness admits inflated numbers for more funds

The prosecution called Abdulkadir Awale, a Somali business owner who has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, to testify about his involvement in the federal child nutrition programs.

In the spring of 2020, Awale said two representatives from Feeding Our Future approached him, encouraging him to participate in the program by providing meals for children through his three Twin Cities restaurants—Karmel Coffee, LLC, Sambusa King, Inc., and Nawal Restaurant, Inc.

At first, Awale legitimately prepared 300 to 400 meals a day, but after three days, he found it too difficult to sustain and attempted to quit. However, he testified that one of Feeding Our Future’s employees persuaded him otherwise, telling him he was “losing a good chance to make good money” and that there was a “different way” to do it—by fabricating meal counts.

Awale ultimately claimed to have served more than 3.6 million meals, securing nearly $12 million in federal reimbursements. He also admitted to paying at least $83,000 in kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employees to stay in the program.

Awale also testified that in 2021, Bock and other Feeding Our Future employees solicited donations at a meeting to help fund legal fees amid a lawsuit with the Minnesota Department of Education.

Awale will be sentenced at a future date.

Bank compliance officer testifies on suspicious accounts and closures 

The government’s final witness of the day, Beth Shipman, senior vice president of compliance at Bridgewater Bank, testified that the bank closed four accounts linked to Salim Said, Bock’s co-defendant, due to suspicious transactions.

Said opened the accounts in late 2020 and early 2021, claiming they were for a food service business. However, the bank found that millions of dollars were moving between multiple interrelated accounts in large, round-dollar amounts, often to individuals and newly-formed businesses with no clear operations.

Shipman testified that when questioned, Said stated the payments were for contractors and vendors, but after the bank’s inquiry, the round-dollar transactions stopped. Finding no legitimate purpose for the accounts, the bank shut them down in July 2021 after $24.5 million had already passed through, much of it from Feeding Our Future reimbursements.

Jenna Gloeb

Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.