Feeding our Future: Fraud trial in hands of jury for decision

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Jacobs told jurors that Aimee Bock and co-defendant Salim Said "committed a fraud of epic proportions" as the trial over an alleged $250 million fraud heads to jury deliberations.

Bock, Said ‘absolutely knew’

Prosecution’s case:

Jacobs spent more than two hours refreshing jurors on everything they’d heard and seen since opening statements on Feb. 10.

"None of this would have been possible without Aimee Bock and Feeding Our Future," he said. She was the gatekeeper for enrolling each site. No site got approved, no claim got paid without Aimee Bock."

Bock, the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, was the only person who submitted documents to the state. She was the only person authorized to write checks to participants once the USDA reimbursements came back in.

The forms include a portion that attests that the information is accurate and that fraudulent submissions could lead to criminal charges.

Bock is charged with wire fraud for the submissions and bribery for the alleged kickbacks, which prosecutors say was evident in money that flowed back to her in the form of handbook payments and the sale of a non-operating daycare business.

"Kickbacks were the grease that made the wheels turn at Feeding Our Future," said Jacobs, telling jurors that all Bock’s employees took these payments. "In exchange for what? Getting these fake, ridiculous claims submitted and paid month after month."

Bock's defense: ‘Being fooled’

Dig deeper:

Kenneth Udoibok, Aimee Bock’s attorney, told jurors the whole case is about the meal counts, massive claims of serving thousands of meals every day.

He argued that Bock didn’t review these - her staff did. She submitted them, trusting that they’d been verified.

"You cannot hold Ms. Bock responsible for someone else’s actions," he said.

He alleged that site operators and food vendors all developed complex systems to make verifying claims very difficult in order to trick her.

He also blamed the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) for approving the claims and paying the reimbursements, leading Bock to believe there was nothing suspicious.

The MDE actually tried to halt approvals just months into the program due to suspicions, but Bock fought them on the grounds they had no legal authority, which a judge agreed they did not.

Said defended as ‘scapegoat’

Said’s defense:

Adrian LaFavor-Montez, attorney for Salim Said, likewise painted his client as doing nothing wrong while others in the meal program, including his own partners, committed the fraud.

"What the government has done is they’ve shown you examples of blatant fraud," he said, "and they’ve created a narrative from that."

He showed the jury images of food being cooked and packaged at Said’s Safari Restaurant, arguing they did actually serve thousands of meals a day.

The FBI surveillance video shows little to no activity outside Safari: He says that was because the bulk of the meals were delivered, not picked up.

Listing the multiple people who’ve pled guilty to food fraud already, he argued the evidence shows "that other individuals in this case took Salim Said’s legitimate business model at Safari Restaurant and corrupted it."

The government rebuttal showed the jury, again, the bank records of Said’s various companies that showed millions of dollars coming in, but just 2 to 4% of that paid out on actual food expenses.

What's next:

The jury begins deliberations Wednesday morning.

They have a lot to consider: 23 total criminal counts, some of them against both Bock and Said, and some against them individually.