The Department of Justice has released details of criminal charges against 47 in Minnesota involved in a $250 million scam to divert COVID funding designated for feeding children to their personal gain. The DOJ characterized the actions of the accused as “the largest pandemic relief foods scheme charged to date”. At the center of the extensive misappropriation is “Feeding Our Future”, a Minnesota nonprofit that had limited experience in feeding children prior to COVID.

It is inevitable that with large amounts of money released in response to an emergency but with lax controls, that many unscrupulous individuals would attempt to divert and embezzle funds. The DOJ alleges that Aimee Bock was the central figure in establishing a pyramid that obtained and misappropriated close to $250 million in 2021. Her organization claimed that the funding was used to provide meals for children in need.  The fraudulent scheme generated illegal income used to purchase luxury vehicles, and real estate in the U.S. Kenya and Turkey.

If a federal or state agency erects numerous hen houses over a short period, it is necessary to guard against the numerous foxes that will be attracted.  The situation is even more serious when the foxes collude and attack hen houses according to a concerted scheme while farmers sleep. Aesop would have had a field day with the ineptitude of the federal agency responsible.