The woman at the center of a monumental fraud case in Minnesota has spoken out about her involvement, expressing regret over the fallout and maintaining that she believed her actions were legitimate.

Aimee Bock, 45, shared her perspective in her first interview from jail, where she defended herself yet also voiced remorse for the COVID-era fraud that funneled $250 million into her extravagant lifestyle, which included high-end automobiles, designer handbags, and luxury vacations.

The nonprofit organization Feeding Our Future was designed to distribute taxpayer funds to local restaurants and caterers to supply meals to children in need during the pandemic.

However, prosecutors allege that under Bock’s direction, the initiative morphed into the largest fraud scheme in the state’s history.

Bock, notably the only participant who was not of Somali descent, was convicted in March 2025 for spearheading the scheme.

As she awaits her sentencing at Sherburne County Jail, Bock, a former teacher and mother of two, has chosen to share her version of events.

‘I wish I could go back and do things differently, stop things, catch things,’ Bock told CBS News while in federal custody. 

‘I believed we were doing everything in our power to protect the program,’ she said before maintaining her innocence. 

Aimee Bock, the convicted mastermind behind the massive fraud scandal in Minnesota, sat down for her first jailhouse interview after being found guilty of scamming taxpayers out of $250 million for her non-profit

Brock next to a black Rolls-Royce with her former boyfriend, Emperor Malcolm Watson Jr. During her trial, federal officials presented evidence that she lived a lavish lifestyle

‘I believe in accountability. If I had done this, I would’ve pleaded guilty. I wouldn’t have gone to trial. I wouldn’t have put my children and my family through what we’ve been through. I’ve lost everything,’ Bock told the outlet, adding that it was ‘heartbreaking’ when she heard her final verdict. 

Salim Said, a Minnesota restaurant owner, was tried alongside Bock and convicted of fraud.  

The scandal has brought on mounting scrutiny for state officials and politicians, including Governor Tim Walz and State Representative Ilhan Omar. 

Omar, who is Somalian, has denied she knew about people defrauding the program, while Walz recently announced he would not run for a third term after it happened ‘on my watch’ and admitted ‘the buck does stop with me.’

Despite the US Attorney’s Office releasing images of diamond jewelry, Louis Vuitton bags and a bright green Lamborghini they found during a raid on her home in 2022, Bock said she never lived lavishly. 

‘They found minimal jewelry. I believe it was like two pairs of earrings, a bracelet, a watch,’ she said. ‘There was some cash there.’ 

A majority of the millions of dollars seized by federal officials was found in bank accounts for the non-profit.  

In a preliminary court order, reviewed by the Daily Mail earlier this month, Bock was ordered to forfeit $3,506,066 seized from a Bank of America account in the name of her nonprofit, along with $179,455 in a personal account.

Her former boyfriend, Empress Malcolm Watson Jr, was charged with tax crimes in September. He was seen beside her in several snaps, including one next to a black Rolls-Royce. 

The non-profit would provide taxpayer money to restaurants and caterers in the community to help provide meals to children in need during the pandemic

She was also ordered to give up her Porsche Panamera, around 60 laptops, iPads, and iPhones found at three addresses, along with a diamond necklace, bracelet, earrings, and her Louis Vuitton purse and backpack. 

Meanwhile, Kenneth Udoibok, Bock’s attorney, shared a video with the outlet showing large amounts of food at meal sites operated by the organization, suggesting operators were doing what they said they would for the community. 

Bock said she worked hard to try to eradicate fraud whenever she suspected people were cheating the system. 

‘I was the only one that stopped a claim and said, this is fraudulent. There are tens of millions of dollars in claims that we did not pay, that we refused,’ she revealed. 

Bock went on to claim that other state officials need to be held accountable for the scheme, not just her. 

While she was more than ready to fill the need for food in the state, Bock said education officials were hesitant about letting some of the businesses in. 

‘The Department of Education was sitting on the applications. They were just not processing them,’ she said before emphasizing the ‘quiet need in Minnesota.’ 

‘Our goal as an organization was to reach the kids that were not being fed. There is kind of this quiet need in Minnesota, these food deserts, where there’s just not access to healthy nutritious food for children,’ she said. 

Meanwhile, Kenneth Udoibok, Bock’s attorney, shared a video with the outlet showing large amounts of food at meal sites operated by the organization, suggesting operators were doing what they said they would for the community

Prosecutors presented picture evidence of the items they seized from Bock after her arrest

Her ex-boyfriend, Empress Malcolm Watson Jr, was charged with tax crimes in September

Bock added: ‘During COVID, for obvious reasons, parents were allowed to come and pick up meals. 

‘So we suddenly were able to reach more children. We were also able to deliver meals to homes.’ 

She went on to file a lawsuit against state officials, alleging the state was being prejudiced toward the low-income Somali community members applying for the program while they ‘desperately needed federal food programs.’

The parties reached a settlement that agreed the state’s education department would process applications for the meal program ‘reasonably promptly.’ 

To this day, Bock said her legal decision was not made as a way to scare or threaten officials. 

‘The notion that a state government is paralyzed and has to allow this level of fraud because they were afraid of what I might do in a lawsuit is preposterous,’ she added. 

Education officials later told a state watchdog that her lawsuit brought on a ‘threat of legal consequences and negative media attention,’ and led them to refer Bock to the FBI in 2021. 

In a letter to the watchdog, the education commissioner wrote: ‘Criminals took advantage of the program even though MDE met or exceeded federal regulations. 

FBI agents are seen raiding non-profit Feeding Our Future in 2022

‘At all times, MDE made its best judgments about its authority for oversight in the context of legal requirements and pushback.’ 

Udoibok instead believes that state officials made his client a ‘scapegoat.’ 

‘What is a lie is that they were policing this fraudulent activity at any time,’ he told the outlet. 

‘They wanted a scapegoat. She ran the only food program in the state, so they pinned it on her.’ 

More than 78 defendants connected to Feeding Our Future have been charged, and about 60 of them have pleaded guilty. 

Law enforcement has said only about $75 million of the $250 million has been recovered.

Bock faces up to 33 years behind bars for her crimes. 

The Daily Mail contacted Udoibok for comment.