Aimee Bock, the convicted ringleader of the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in Minnesota, was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison on Thursday.
The judge handed Bock a 500-month sentence and ordered her to repay nearly $243 million to the federal government.
Last year,
a jury found her guilty on multiple criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Prosecutors said she orchestrated the largest pandemic fraud case in the country, which diverted tens of millions in government money meant to feed hungry children.
"Aimee Bock didn't participate in fraud, she orchestrated it, profited on it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca Kline said before the sentencing.
"I don't have the words to express just how horrible I feel," Bock told the court Thursday. "I know I'm responsible. It's never been my goal to shift responsibility. I understand I failed to protect the program I was supposed to protect."
Bock's attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, argued her crime was "a case of gross negligence."
"I'm not saying she's not taking responsibility," Udoibok said. "What I'm saying is, if I can project the court to what Ms. Bock intended to do for this group of people. In her mind, she thought she was giving them access to being good citizens and being in this program."
Before handing down the sentence, the judge said Bock "acted as a gatekeeper" and "had an integral role in planning the scheme." The judge also said Bock lied on the stand during her trial.
In January,
Bock told CBS News she wished she "could go back and do things differently, stop things, catch things."
"I believed we were doing everything in our power to protect the program," Bock said.
Prosecutors had
asked the court for a 50-year sentence, saying the scandal "has done great damage to the state." In addition to citing an alleged lack of accountability and remorse on Bock's part, prosecutors pointed to accusations Bock
leaked protected documents while in custody.
Court filings say Bock used recorded jail calls to instruct her son to send documents tied to the case to political figures and media outlets. Prosecutors say some of the leaked materials involved protected witness information, among other things.
A judge called her actions "really disturbing" during a hearing in April. WCCO spoke with Kenneth Udoibok, Bock's defense attorney, after those allegations came out.
"Some of you have heard Aimee talk about this at trial, she believes that there is more to the story, that more people are out there that the government should look at, and she's willing to help," Udoibok said.
Dozens of others have been convicted in connection with the Feeding Our Future scheme.
"The state of Minnesota will never be the same because of Bock," Kline said Thursday.
