The ringleader behind the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case has been accused of directing her son to leak sensitive materials to the media and elected officials in an attempt to minimize her role in the scheme ahead of her sentencing, court documents allege.
The United States Attorney's Office filed a motion on Tuesday that says Aimee Bock, since at least February, has been directing her college-age son to "download large volumes of material related to her federal prosecution," and disseminate them to lawmakers and members of the media in what "can best be described as a public relations campaign."
The motion states that a member of the Minnesota House received two emails from the same address claiming "Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, and the Minnesota Department of Education intentionally set Feeding Our Future and Aimee Bock up as a scapegoat." Attached to the emails were documents governed by a protective order, including emails from Bock's Feeding Our Future email account.
Bock, on a March 16 recorded jail call, allegedly instructed her son to download documents from her Dropbox account, which she believed showed she tried to combat fraud at Feeding Our Future, and told him to put "Ellison's office intentionally set Bock/FOF up to be a scapegoat" in the body of the email.
In a March 27 call, Bock commanded her son to send the files to "Republicans in DC," including the "guy who told Ellison he should be in jail," and the "right wing people the Trump follows," according ot the motion.
Court documents say Bock, on multiple occasions, would instruct her son to remove any exhibit stickers or other markings that indicated they came from her federal criminal case before sending the materials.
In a call with an unidentified woman, Bock claimed she hadn't "snitch[ed] on nobody" while her case was pending, "but we're blowing s*** up now. We're leaking all kinds of documents," according to the motion.
Last week, the attorney's office learned a reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune had obtained copies of documents that "could only have come from the government's discovery disclosures, in violation of the Court's Protective Order."
This led the government to investigate who was responsible for leaking the documents to the Minnesota Star Tribune reporter. They were unable to determine with certainty who provided the reports, but "it seems apparent that Bock, or an individual acting on her behalf, is responsible," the motion said.
The attorney's office says Bock said in an April 19 phone call that her criminal defense attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, and the editor of the Minnesota Star Tribune were planning on when to publish an article that would "favorably color her role in the fraud" to "garner the most strategic advantage."
When asked for comment on the allegations, the Minnesota Star Tribune told WCCO it "cannot comment on stories we may or may not be working on, or on our reporting process."
"Bock's leaking of protected material into the public domain is directly and highly harmful not only to the government's prosecution, but also to the safety of those witnesses who have chosen to come forward and speak to law enforcement. Protective orders are entered to prevent exactly this type of conduct, and Bock should be sanctioned accordingly for her manipulation of the criminal justice process," prosecutors wrote in Tuesday's motion.
Bock's attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, told WCCO in a statement that his client "doesn't mean any harm."
"In an inartful way, her kids, who are under 19 years of age, are hoping that the media and the legislative branch see their mom's plight. Aimee is not trying to harm or intimidate anyone; rather, she wants the whole truth out before the legislature and the president. She's crying for help," Udoibok said.
As a result of the allegations, the U.S. Attorney's Office is asking the court to sanction Bock for violating the protective order and modify the order to require Bock to relinquish control of her Dropbox account and surrender all physical and electronic copies of protected material in her possession, including her son's computer.
Additionally, prosecutors suggest sanctions include an order prohibiting Bock from any form of contact with her sons ahead of her May 21 sentencing.
Bock appears in court to respond to allegations
A federal judge is ordering that the prosecution and the defense work together to determine what exactly the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme ringleader leaked to reporters and politicians.
Bock appeared in federal court in Minneapolis on Thursday to respond to allegations that she directed her college-age son to disseminate protected documents in what the prosecution describes as a "public relations campaign."
Judge Nancy Brasel said that this was a clear acknowledgement on Bock's part that she was doing something wrong, calling her actions "really disturbing."
The prosecution wanted, in part, for the court to ban communication between Bock and her children. Brasel indicated this was a step too far, instead ordering that the Bock family be blocked out from the Dropbox account unless defense attorney Kenneth Udoibok himself was present.
Brasel also ordered Udoibok to work with prosecutors to work out who exactly was contacted, what files they were provided, and to ask that they be returned. Udoibok also agreed to provide an affidavit that sensitive files were deleted from Bock's son's devices.
For Brasel, her gravest concern had to do with witness intimidation allegations.
"From the government's perspective, that is a very big concern. It is threatening the witnesses' safety," Brasel said. "They feel betrayed. It hinders the government's ability to work with witnesses."
Bock's defense attorney said she and her children were not responsible, claiming the dozens of defendants linked to the Feeding Our Future scheme would have access to the same documentation.
"What she wants to do is get out the truth. The truth that the state has and the truth that the federal government has. I can help her with that, but in the bounds of the law," Udoibok told reporters.
Bock has long maintained that state officials are to blame for continuing to approve Feeding Our Future pay-outs and failing to catch possible problems. It's an argument that failed in front of a jury, which convicted her on March 19, 2025.
Udoibok said his client is willing to effectively work as a "whistleblower" for the government ahead of her sentencing.
For Udoibok, he said he is looking forward to this ending. He candidly said in court that he has lost nearly fifty pounds since this saga began. He also noted he isn't sure if the leak allegations would impact sentencing.
"What can a criminal defense attorney do without his paranoia. The wind blows and I think it can affect a sentencing. Until the day she's sentenced, I'm not going to know. Do I think she should spend a lot of time in prison? No," Udoibok said.
Since 2021, 92 people have been charged in the schemes, with 67 convicted, including five people who pleaded guilty last month for their roles in the Feeding Our Future scandal that exploited a federal nutrition program.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Bock defended her conduct, admitted regrets and argued that state officials who she worked with should bear some of the blame. It was the first time Bock spoke publicly since she was arrested.
Ashley Grams contributed to this report.
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