A judge on Thursday sentenced the former leader of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future to 41-and-a-haf years behind bars for her involvement in a $250 million pandemic fraud case that sparked national attention and outrage. 

The leader, who became known as the "mastermind" of the scheme, Amiee Bock, claimed the nonprofit helped feed children during the pandemic. She was convicted in March 2025 of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy and must repay $243 million.

The Justice Department in its case against Bock said he ran the "single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country," according to the Associated Press. 

Following the sentencing hearing, authorities held a news conference in which the DOJ announced charges against 15 more people accused of fraud involving federal tax dollars. 

Prosecutors say Feeding Our Future was the hub of a fraud network that included fake food distribution sites, fake lists of children who were being fed, and kickbacks, and Bock and her co-conspirators spent the money on international travel, real estate, luxury vehicles and other lavish spending.