Gov. Tim Walz may want to start thinking seriously about getting a lawyer. A key figure convicted in one of Minnesota’s largest fraud scandals now says Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison knew about widespread abuse long before federal prosecutors intervened.
Aimee Bock, the former head of Feeding Our Future, made the claims during a jailhouse interview with Fox News from Sherburne County Jail. According to Bock, state officials continued approving program sponsors and paying claims even after red flags surfaced about potential fraud.
Bock said the state held responsibility for approving sponsors and monitoring claims under the program. She claims she raised concerns about suspicious companies, yet officials failed to investigate or shut them down.
“I honestly believe Keith Ellison and Gov. Walz need to be held accountable. There needs to be an investigation done. If they weren’t aware, that’s concerning,” Bock told Fox News. I have to believe that the governor's office and Keith Ellison's office were aware of this. They've said they were involved in helping the FBI. They've said they were made aware, but apparently, I'm scary, so they couldn't do anything.”
Ellison’s office disputes Bock’s claims.
"She is a liar, fraudster, and manipulator of the highest order who has never acknowledged or accepted her guilt. Now, she’s on a media tour to deflect her guilt onto others instead of finally taking responsibility for the fraud scheme she ran," a spokesperson for Ellison said. "Federal and state investigators meticulously examined the crimes Bock and her accomplices committed. Bock alone is responsible for her own actions, which was proven in court beyond a shadow of a doubt, and her claim about Attorney General Ellison is a lie without a shred of evidence behind it."
The House Oversight Committee said on Jan. 7 that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 of whom are of Somali descent.
Sixty-four defendants have already been convicted. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said the DOJ has issued more than 1,750 subpoenas, executed over 130 search warrants, and conducted more than 1,000 witness interviews in what officials describe as a sweeping federal probe.
Comer said federal prosecutors estimate at least $9 billion has been stolen across multiple fraud schemes in Minnesota. Walz's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bock's allegations. But, he is starting to raise money for a legal defense fund.
“Tim Walz here. Last week, the federal government opened an investigation into me,” an email to supporters began. This comes just weeks after a federal ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis, unleashing chaos across our city. Rather than taking accountability and working to turn down the temperature, Donald Trump and his administration are fanning the flames by targeting me for demanding transparency and answers. Let me be clear: Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic - and I won't let it slide.”
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Walz added, “If you're with me, please rush a donation to our legal defense fund and help ensure we can keep fighting for accountability, transparency, and justice.”
🚨JUST IN: Gov. Tim Walz raising money for his legal defense fund.
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) January 23, 2026
“If you’re with me, please rush a donation to our legal defense fund and help ensure we can keep fighting for accountability, transparency, and justice.” pic.twitter.com/lDeZLVKFky
"The breadth and depth of this fraud is breathtaking. And I fear it is just the tip of the iceberg. Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in these crimes," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said. "They failed Minnesotans and all Americans, handing millions of taxpayers’ money to fraudsters."
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