A Faribault restaurant owner testified in court on Tuesday that she paid $30,000 in monthly kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee,
who would immediately confirm the payments during a video call with Aimee Bock, the nonprofit’s CEO. Lul Bashir Ali, who, along with her husband, admitted to defrauding the government of $5 million, broke down in tears while testifying in Bock’s federal trial. Ali described the devastating impact of the $250 million fraud scandal—one of the largest pandemic-related fraud schemes in the U.S.—on the local Somali community.
“She destroyed us as a community,” said Ali, a Somali native who struggled to articulate her thoughts in English. “I don’t like to remember that.”
Ali’s testimony occurred on the second day of Bock’s trial, which also included unexpected testimony from a bartender. Benjamin Stayberg, identified in court documents as the president of Feeding Our Future’s board, told jurors he had no knowledge of holding such a position.
“I had no idea I was any part of that,” Stayberg said, explaining that he never performed any duties for the nonprofit and only knew Bock because she occasionally visited his St. Paul bar.
Bock faces multiple felony charges for allegedly orchestrating a widespread pay-for-play scheme involving dozens of co-conspirators who profited by falsely claiming to provide millions of meals to low-income children during 2020 and 2021.
A Faribault restaurant owner testified in court on Tuesday that she paid $30,000 in monthly kickbacks to a Feeding Our Future employee, who would immediately confirm the payments during a video call with Aimee Bock, the nonprofit’s CEO. Lul Bashir Ali, who, along with her husband, admitted to defrauding the government of $5 million, broke down in tears while testifying in Bock’s federal trial. Ali described the devastating impact of the $250 million fraud scandal—one of the largest pandemic-related fraud schemes in the U.S.—on the local Somali community.
“She destroyed us as a community,” said Ali, a Somali native who struggled to articulate her thoughts in English. “I don’t like to remember that.”
Ali’s testimony occurred on the second day of Bock’s trial, which also included unexpected testimony from a bartender. Benjamin Stayberg, identified in court documents as the president of Feeding Our Future’s board, told jurors he had no knowledge of holding such a position.
“I had no idea I was any part of that,” Stayberg said, explaining that he never performed any duties for the nonprofit and only knew Bock because she occasionally visited his St. Paul bar.
Bock faces multiple felony charges for allegedly orchestrating a widespread pay-for-play scheme involving dozens of co-conspirators who profited by falsely claiming to provide millions of meals to low-income children during 2020 and 2021.
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