Aimee Bock, Salim Said found guilty in Feeding Our Future fraud trial

A federal jury found Feeding Our Future leader Aimee Bock and her alleged accomplice, Minneapolis restaurant owner Salim Said, guilty on all counts Wednesday after only about five hours of deliberation.

Jurors had a mountain of evidence to sift through after listening to more than 30 witnesses testify over five weeks in the high-profile case — part of a sprawling $250 million federal investigation that’s charged 70 people, one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in the country.

The jury reached a swift decision, finding Bock, 44, of Apple Valley, guilty of seven crimes and Said, 36, of Plymouth, guilty of 21 crimes, including wire fraud and federal programs bribery. Each of their counts of wire fraud carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

“The fact that they returned a verdict so quickly I think speaks volumes to the job that our team did,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, the lead prosecutor on the case, said after the verdict.

Last year, a jury in the trial of seven defendants in another Feeding Our Future case took four days to deliberate before convicting five defendants and acquitting two.

After the verdict was read Wednesday, Bock cried and was comforted by her attorney before she and Said were handcuffed and led out of court. They will remain in custody; a sentencing date hasn’t yet been set.

Bock’s attorney Kenneth Udoibok said he will appeal the verdict. He said he thought the quick speed of the verdict told him that the jurors had their minds made up before they even began deliberating.

“I’m surprised,” he said. “[They must have thought] it was a slam dunk for the government. I didn’t think it was.”