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Top Federal Officials Head To Minnesota For Major Fraud Announcement

Dallas Express | May 21, 2026
Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, where legislators held hearings and raised warnings about suspected daycare fraud in state-funded programs.

Top federal officials will hold a major fraud-related announcement in Minneapolis on Thursday, May 21, hours after a federal judge sentences Aimee Bock, whom prosecutors described as a leader of the Feeding Our Future scandal.

Alpha News reporter Liz Collin reported Wednesday night that a federal judge will sentence Bock at 9 a.m., followed by a DOJ announcement involving “significant law enforcement action involving fraud in Minnesota.”

A media advisory posted by Alpha News says the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, and federal law enforcement officials will hold an 11 a.m. CDT press conference in Minneapolis to announce a “major law enforcement action involving fraud in Minnesota.”

The advisory lists Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division Colin McDonald, Vice Chair of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud Andrew Ferguson, FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen for the District of Minnesota, and federal law enforcement partners as participants.

The advisory does not state whether the DOJ announcement connects to Bock’s sentencing.

Bock Sentencing Set For Same Morning

A federal jury convicted Bock, the former head of Feeding Our Future, 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.

Alpha News reported this week that federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Bock to 50 years in prison, while her attorneys are seeking either time served or no more than 37 months.

The DOJ announcement comes as Minnesota faces mounting federal scrutiny over alleged fraud involving public assistance, health care, childcare, and social service 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.”

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.

CBS News Minnesota reported that federal prosecutors have estimated fraud in Minnesota programs could exceed $9 billion. Gov. Tim Walz has disputed that figure and defended his administration’s handling of fraud enforcement.

DOJ plans to livestream the press conference Thursday at justice.gov/live.

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