Feeding Our Future trial: Aimee Bock takes the stand

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - For weeks, the big question was whether Aimee Bock would testify in her own defense. Her attorney didn’t know, saying he would leave it up to her and no decision had been made.

Friday afternoon, right after the prosecution rested their case, the answer came when she took the stand.

The beginnings of Feeding Our Future

What she said:

Bock’s testimony so far, about an hour’s worth, only got into the background: her education, her jobs and how and when she started Feeding Our Future, a nonprofit to help community organizations provide meals to children.

She was describing the organizational structure of Feeding Our Future, including the number of employees and their roles, before court recessed for the week.

The only hint of what’s to come is when she was asked about Abdikerm Eidleh, a top assistant who worked directly with meal sites. Eidleh is also charged, but left the country before that happened. 

His name has come up frequently as the person who recruited meal site participants and helped them orchestrate fraudulent claims and receive their massive reimbursements.

"A horrible person," Bock said. The defense’s case, as laid out in opening statements, is that others committed the crimes and Bock knew nothing about it.

Food money sent to Bock's boyfriend

What else to know:

The final prosecution witness was another FBI forensic accountant who deeply incriminated Bock in the flow of fraudulently obtained money.

She testified how Bock’s boyfriend, Empress Watson, registered a handyman business called "Handy Helpers," which the government says was merely a shell company. As soon as he opened a bank account for that business, thousands began flowing directly from Feeding Our Future, all by Aimee Bock.

Bank records showed repeated transfers of $3,500, several times a month, from Feeding Our Future. The jury also saw a long series of $10,000 checks, also from Feeding Our Future, and signed by Aimee Bock.

In total, Watson’s business received $878,000, plus his payroll checks, as an employee of Feeding Our Future, which added up to slightly more than $1 million.

But the accountant found no record of business expenses. Instead, more than $200,000 was taken as cash withdrawals. About $169,000 was transferred to his personal bank account. And over $100,000 spent on vacations and personal items.

Among those expenses, the jury saw evidence of trips to Las Vegas that Bock and Watson took, including $2,000 a day car rentals for Lamborghinis and a Rolls Royce, and $1,000 spent at a Louis Vuitton store.

There was also carpet for Bock’s home and expensive jewelry found there during a search, all paid for by Watson’s business account.

"Where was the money from?" asked a prosecutor. 

"Feeding Our Future," answered the accountant. 

"And who transferred it there?" a prosecutor asked. 

"Aimee Bock," the accountant answered. 

The trial is off Monday and Tuesday. Bock resumes testifying on Wednesday.