Jury selected for trial of Feeding our Future founder, co-defendant
Attorneys have officially selected 12 jurors and four alternates for a federal trial against the founder of Feeding Our Future. Opening statements in the trial, which is expected to last four weeks, will begin next Monday, Feb. 10.
The group of 16 breaks down to nine men and seven women.
Aimee Bock was the founder of the now-defunct nonprofit organization. She’s facing wire fraud and bribery charges and is accused of being the ringleader of what government officials call the largest pandemic relief fraud case in the country.
Prosecutors allege Bock and others stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children.
She will be standing trial with co-defendant Salim Said, and together, are the second group to stand trial.
There’s more security than ever at the federal courthouse after prosecutors say a group of defendants in the first Feeding Our Future trial tried to bribe a juror last summer.
When prosecutors told the judge about the foiled bribery attempt, some of the defendants tried to delete the evidence from their phones in the courtroom. Now, nearly everyone but lawyers and members of the media must keep their phones in a locked pouch before they can get past security.
Lawyers for Bock and Said recently reminded the judge that their clients weren’t involved in the jury bribery scheme.
In total, 70 people have been charged in the overall case, and 30 have pleaded guilty to various charges.
Just last week, Abdulkadir Salah admitted to being paid kickbacks in exchange for sponsoring sites that lied about feeding thousands of kids.
Bock’s attorney says that claim is untrue, and that she was “hoodwinked, played by the people she trusted.”
Another defendant received a 17-year prison sentence for his role, which is the longest prison term in the case so far.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has a crew at the courthouse and will continue to update this article throughout the day. You can find KSTP’s full coverage of the Feeding Our Future case here.