Aimee Bock, the non-profit director at the centre of the alleged plot, denies any wrongdoingThe suspects are accused of stealing $250m from a government aid programme that was supposed to feed children in need during the pandemic.A Minnesota non-profit organisation, Feeding Our Future, is accused of co-ordinating the plot. Founder Aimee Bock denies any wrongdoing.He said the indictment was "merely the beginning of the criminal process" and represented a "mere allegation".
The suspects are alleged to have issued bills for meals they did not serve to children who did not exist, said the Department of Justice in a statement. The defendants are said to have bribed employees of Feeding Our Future to sponsor numerous sham distribution sites. But they were instead submitting false paperwork using bogus children's names, some of which were taken from a website, www.listofrandomnames.com.