Ilhan Omar knew about $250M Somali fraud scheme, 'mastermind' claims from behind bars

By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 19:54, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 19:56, 18 May 2026 The founder of a Minnesota nonprofit embroiled in a $250 million Covid-era meal fraud scheme is claiming that Representative Ilhan Omar knew about the plot.  Founder of the Feeding Our Future Organization, Aimee Bock, says she doesn't believe that 'state and federal officials' did not know about the fraud. The former nonprofit founder is accusing Omar of helping loosen the regulation that allowed Somali-owned businesses, including restaurants, to falsify the number of meals that they served to school-age patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Bock, who has been convicted of conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud in conjunction with the meal scheme, is facing up to 100 years in prison. She has denied taking part in the fraud and claimed she tried to 'warn' lawmakers. In a video interview conducted from jail, Bock told the New York Post, 'I struggle to believe that she wouldn't have known,' of Omar.  Bock also told the Post, 'The notion that I'm personally responsible for all of it... is so frustrating. I'm the only white person out of 80 or 90 individuals [charged in the fraud]. I'm the only one that doesn't speak the language.'  She is alleging that Omar, who introduced the MEALS Act in 2020, designed the bill to make it easier to waive meal requirements in schools during the pandemic. As a result, there were fewer in-person inspections, she claims, and Somali restaurants started getting in on the multi-million-dollar scam.  Omar told the Daily Mail that 'the MEALS Act was signed into law by President Trump and passed with bipartisan support as part of a broader legislative package. Trump's USDA Secretary set the regulatory framework during the rollout of the program. I have always championed feeding kids and will continue to ensure our children do not go hungry.' Aimee Bock, the former executive director of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future in January 27, 2022 in St. Anthony, Minnesota Ilhan Omar during a news conference on Capitol Hill on January 22, 2025 in Washington, DC Addressing the validity of Bock's claims, Omar also noted, 'it is not surprising that a convicted fraud mastermind, a proven liar who got rich pretending to feed hungry children, would make such a disgusting and false accusation days ahead of her sentencing. Any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false.' Bock also pointed out that Safari, one of the involved Somali eateries, was where Omar held her election party in 2018. Safari Somalian restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota The inside of Safari Somalian restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota Omar, a member of the Somali community in Minnesota, has fallen under increased scrutiny this year after a highly publicized crackdown on fraud in her home state. In her statement to the Daily Mail, Omar also revealed that 'the moment this fraud came to light, I immediately sent a letter to the USDA Secretary demanding answers and accountability. As I stated from the beginning, stealing millions of dollars under the guise of feeding hungry children to bankroll lavish lifestyles and extravagant expenses is reprehensible.' 'I'm grateful that Aimee Bock and every individual involved in this abhorrent scheme are being held accountable for defrauding taxpayers and betraying vulnerable children,' Omar concluded. A wild million-dollar 'mistake' on her financial disclosure form also raised eyebrows earlier this spring, when she and her husband Tim Mynett revealed in an amended filing that they share a total amount of assets between $18,004 to $95,000. That is a stark difference from the range of assets estimated between $6 million and $30 million that the duo filed in a previous financial disclosure. Congressional financial disclosures do not contain exact amounts, only ranges. Omar was scrutinized by the non-partisan Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC) for the initial error-filled filing. Omar speaks during a news conference on January 28, 2026, in Minneapolis  A DC lawyer representing Omar sent a letter to the OCC stating that the erroneous filing was not done on purpose. 'As the busiest of people, it is very common for members and their spouses to rely on learned professionals like accountants to make calculations and determinations that appear on public filings,' the letter said, per the Wall Street Journal. 'While the error is of course unfortunate, there is nothing untoward and nothing illegal has occurred.' 'The amended disclosure confirms what we've said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,' said Jacklyn Rogers, an Omar spokeswoman, earlier this month. 'The congresswoman amended her disclosures voluntarily as soon as the discrepancy was identified.' The discrepancy reportedly came from an accountant working with Mynett's businesses, California-based winery eStCru Wines and his venture-capital management firm Rose Lake Capital. Omar claimed that she simply trusted the number that was given to her, and didn't question it. Federal prosecutors have noted at least 57 people connected with the Feeding Our Future program billed the federal government $250 million, claiming to buy meals for children during the COVID pandemic. Instead, the defendants allegedly used the stolen money to buy Lamborghinis, Porsche SUVs, beachfront property in Kenya and private villas in the Maldives. The vast majority of those convicted in the case are Somali. Investigators then found that around $9 billion in federal Medicaid funds supporting 14 Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been stolen, US Attorney Joe Thompson announced on December 18. Eighty-two of the 92 defendants in the child nutrition, housing services, and autism program scams are Somali, prosecutors have said. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. 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