Federal officials announced criminal charges Thursday against 15 individuals accused of carrying out more than $90 million in fraud across Minnesota taxpayer-funded programs.
The Department of Justice announcement came hours after Aimee Bock, the founder of Feeding Our Future, was sentenced to 41 1/2 years in prison for her role in a separate $250 million pandemic-era child nutrition fraud scheme.
Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, said the newly announced cases involve seven state-managed Medicaid programs that federal officials allege were systematically targeted by fraudsters.
“Let me be clear upfront about something: This is not the end of our work in Minnesota,” McDonald said during the press conference. “This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota. The fraud here in Minnesota is shocking.”
Seven Programs Targeted
Federal officials said the alleged schemes involved programs tied to housing stabilization services, autism services, child care, and Medicaid-related care.
McDonald pointed to Minnesota’s housing stabilization services program, which was designed to help homeless residents find and keep housing, as one example of alleged abuse. He said the program was projected in 2020 to cost about $2.5 million per year but grew to more than $104 million by 2024.
“One of the programs has been completely shut down because there’s no money left: It’s all gone,” McDonald said.
Federal officials also raised concerns about explosive growth in autism-related services, saying one program grew from about $600,000 in costs six years ago to more than $400 million.
“That number is not driven by supply and demand,” McDonald said. “It is not driven by healthcare or charity. It is fraud.”
Officials Cite Autism Fraud Case
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described one of the autism-related cases announced Thursday as the largest autism fraud case in DOJ history.
“This was not a paperwork error,” Kennedy said. “It was not a technical violation. This was organized theft.”
Federal officials said the allegations include fraudulent autism diagnoses, kickbacks to parents, billing for services that were not provided, and other schemes involving taxpayer-funded health care and social service programs.
McDonald said the DOJ has surged additional prosecutors into Minnesota and signaled that more enforcement action is expected.
One Defendant Remains At Large
FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia said one defendant remained at large after fleeing during Thursday’s enforcement action.
Raia said the defendant jumped from a fourth-floor balcony while agents were carrying out arrests. Federal officials urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
McDonald said the defendant would face additional allegations tied to fleeing law enforcement and obstructing justice.
Prior Warnings In Minnesota
The DOJ announcement adds to mounting scrutiny of Minnesota’s handling of public assistance and Medicaid-related programs.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Minnesota lawmakers warned state agencies about suspected daycare fraud months before federal investigations intensified. State Rep. Kristin Robbins told DX that legislators raised concerns about childcare providers receiving large taxpayer payments despite signs that some facilities did not appear operational.
“They were warned,” Robbins told DX. “Clearly, for a year, they have done nothing.”
Robbins, chair of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention Committee, blamed Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families for failing to act.
“This is a pattern that we have seen over and over again,” Robbins told DX. “Even when we highlight it, even when we give the department lists, they haven’t taken action. So for them to say, ‘Oh, we didn’t know’ – it’s just not true.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a former Minnesota Department of Human Services employee testified that officials detected overseas logins tied to the Child Care Assistance Program after briefly activating IP tracking, then disabled the safeguard.
The White House also outlined a multi-agency crackdown in January on alleged Minnesota fraud, citing investigations involving Feeding Our Future, Housing Stabilization Services, Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention programs, and Medicaid-related cases, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Federal agents executed 22 court-authorized search warrants across the Twin Cities in April as part of an investigation into alleged fraud in Minnesota’s child care and Medicaid programs, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Bock Sentenced Same Day
The Thursday announcement came the same day Bock was sentenced in the Feeding Our Future case.
A federal jury convicted Bock in March 2025 after prosecutors said she helped exploit a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal prosecutors said Bock and co-defendant Salim Said falsely claimed to have served 91 million meals and fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, prosecutors accused Bock of organizing bogus food kitchens that billed the government for meals they did not serve.
The DOJ livestreamed Thursday’s press conference through justice.gov/live.
