Woman at the center of a large Minnesota fraud case has been sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison.

Aimee Bock led Feeding Our Future, an organization that said it supported the distribution of millions of meals to children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, a judge imposed a rare and lengthy sentence of nearly 42 years in prison on the former head of a Minnesota nonprofit, who was convicted in a massive $250 million fraud scheme that later contributed to an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration.

Aimee Bock led Feeding Our Future, an organization that said it was helping deliver millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic. However, the U.S. Justice Department described her as being at the center of the “single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country.”

Speaking in federal court, Bock said, “I understand I failed. I failed the public, my family, everyone.”

The fraud cases were later cited by President Donald Trump as part of the justification for a major deployment of federal officers to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area last winter, a move that sparked community pushback and was followed by two deaths.

Prosecutors said in court filings that “Feeding Our Future operated like a cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks.”

Bock, who had long maintained her innocence, was convicted last year of conspiracy, fraud, and bribery.

“This case has changed our state forever,” said Joe Thompson, the former lead prosecutor, speaking outside the courtroom. “Aimee Bock did everything she could to earn this long sentence.”

Prosecutors said the nonprofit was at the center of a wider fraud network involving partner organizations, fake meal distribution sites, kickbacks, and fabricated lists of children who were supposedly being fed. Over the years, dozens of people—many from Minnesota’s large Somali community—have been convicted in related food fraud cases that have moved through the courts.

The government also alleged that Bock and her co-conspirators used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle, including international travel, real estate purchases, luxury vehicles, and other expensive spending.

Bock’s attorney, Kenneth Udoibok, urged a sentence of no more than three years, arguing that she had cooperated with investigators and provided valuable information. He also maintained that she had been wrongly portrayed as the scheme’s mastermind, saying two co-defendants were actually responsible for running the operation.

Meanwhile, authorities this week also filed new charges against several individuals as part of a broader investigation into federal social service spending in Minnesota.

Among those named is Fahima Mahamud, former CEO of Future Leaders Early Learning Center, a Minneapolis childcare facility. Prosecutors allege that over a three-year period, her organization received about $4.6 million in reimbursements for services involving individuals who did not pay the required copayment.

A request for comment sent to her lawyer on Thursday was not immediately answered. Mahamud had previously been charged in February with fraud related to meal programs and has pleaded not guilty to those allegations.

Two other individuals were charged with conspiring to obtain about $975,000 in Medicaid funding for housing services that prosecutors say were never actually provided. According to a court filing, they are expected to enter guilty pleas in June.

In a separate case, two more people were accused of receiving $21.1 million by billing Medicaid for autism therapy that was either unnecessary or not delivered. Investigators also alleged they paid families up to $1,500 per child each month to enroll in the program and enable reimbursement claims.

Former President Donald Trump, who has often criticized Somalis, previously called the state “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and questioned Gov. Tim Walz’s leadership, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 2024 election.

“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from,” Trump wrote on social media.

Bock is white, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has said most defendants in the cases are of Somali descent, with the majority being U.S. citizens.

The immigration-related federal response sparked repeated protests and clashes between residents and federal officers, and was linked to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.