Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and former federal prosecutor, spoke with CNN about the sentencing of Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock in one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. Osler explained that the unusually long prison sentence reflected both the scale of the fraud and the fact that the scheme exploited programs intended to feed children, making the crime especially serious in the eyes of the court.
From the article:
The woman prosecutors have called the “mastermind” of a massive fraud scheme to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in government aid was sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison Thursday.
Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and a former federal prosecutor, said Bock’s sentence was particularly harsh because the crime involved a coordinated effort that affected taxpayers and children, unlike other scams where investors are the victims.
“If I’m paying my taxes and it ends up going to scammers or taking food from kids, there’s something really a little more sinister there,” Osler told CNN. “The sentencing guidelines are largely driven by the amount of the loss, and here you’ve got a really high number on that.”
One purpose of a long prison sentence in a white-collar case is deterrence, Osler said. Bock’s role in the fraud was another factor.
