Ellison, Walz again reject criticism on alleged Feeding Our Future fraud
DULUTH, Minn. -- Attorney General Keith Ellison on Friday insisted his office did "everything we could" in how they handled the investigation into Feeding Our Future, the group at the center of an alleged $250 million scheme to defraud the federal government.
"We contacted the Department of Agriculture, then we contacted the FBI, and we collaborated every step of the way," Ellison said at a campaign stop in Duluth. "This investigation that the FBI successfully led took three continents, multiple languages and more than 100 agents."
Four people have already pled guilty while 46 others have been indicted and are accused of targeting federal child nutrition programs that provide free meals to low-income children and adults. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with oversight from state governments. In Minnesota, the funds are administered by the state Department of Education, with meals historically provided to kids through schools and daycare centers. Sites that serve the food are sponsored by authorized public or nonprofit groups.
Feeding Our Future had been a sponsor prior to the pandemic, and officials said in 2019 the group dispersed some $3.4 million. By 2021, however, that number ballooned to a whopping $200 million.
Also on Friday, Gov. Tim Walz shot back at his gubernatorial election opponent Scott Jensen, who accused the administration of "waiting six months and up to potentially 12 months" before moving forward with the investigation.
"My concern now is the criminals who committed this are brought to justice," Walz said, and added that "after the FBI concludes its investigation, we'll get a clearer picture of this."
Court documents say the Department of Education grew concerned about the rapid growth in reimbursements and the number of sites sponsored by Feeding Our Future. The department said it reached out to the USDA in the summer of 2020 and began scrutinizing the nonprofit's site applications. In one case, the agency denied an application for a group that claimed in March 2021 it was serving an after-school snack and supper to 5,000 kids a day; the FBI characterized this as "an exceedingly large number of children."
The Department of Education went to the FBI in April 2021, and the FBI began investigating the following month. Last January, federal agents raided several properties, including Feeding Our Future's offices and Bock's home.
Feeding Our Future received $244 million in federal reimbursements through the food nutrition programs between 2018 and 2021, the FBI reported. Department of Education data puts the nonprofit's total reimbursements at $268.4 million in the same years.
