Accepting an honor against a stunning backdrop of sparking blush-colored sequins accentuated by pink and white roses, Aimee Bock appeared to be a woman at the very pinnacle of an impressive executive career.
Just five years on, the unassuming-looking Midwest mother, 45, faces dying behind bars after overseeing a criminal enterprise that shocked America.
Speaking at a gala held Feeding Our Future - the Minneapolis nonprofit that she founded in 2016 - Bock shared how her charity had managed to continue with its mission to feed hungry children by fending off an attempt by Minnesota's Department of Education (MDE) to shut it down.
Dressed in a tasteful duck egg blue blouse and simple gold necklace that accentuated her expensive blonde highlights, Bock took the microphone and attacked the MDE, saying: 'You have no legal authority to steal this money from the community.'
Her words could not have been more unfortunately chosen - because Feeding Our Future was in the midst of stealing $250 million in emergency Covid funds from taxpayers at the very same moment that Bock was defending the charity on stage.
Prosecutors now want Bock jailed for up to 50 years for her part in the scam, while her lawyer has asked for time served, or a maximum of just three years jail.
However long Bock spends behind bars, the scandal has completely destroyed her career, finances and good name.
Bock was honored at a ritzy gala in 2021 in which she was presented with a plaque that read, 'In recognition and appreciation for your outstanding leadership'
Prosecutors said Bock's new lover Empress Malcom Watson Jr benefitted from the massive fraud
There were signs of trouble even before Bock's arrest.
She was in the middle of divorcing her husband, Theodore, as she misappropriated the funds and used them for her own personal expenses, according to records viewed by the Daily Mail.
Theodore's replacement was a 41-year-old man called Empress Malcom Watson Jr, a heavily-tattooed man with a fondness for tracksuits and chunky gold jewelry, who has had multiple past brushes with the law.
Bock was evidently besotted with Watson. She lavished around $600,000 of taxpayer cash on treats while spending time with him, according to a search warrant filed in the US District Court for Minnesota viewed by the Daily Mail.
The money came from the Federal Child Nutrition Program and went towards a no-expense spared trip to Las Vegas, where Bock splashed $21,000 at luxury car rental agency Royalty Exotic, $9,000 at Caesar's Palace, $6,700 at Gucci and $3,500 at Louis Vuitton, per the filing.
Additionally, she withdrew $184,000 in cash from the federal funds and transferred roughly $113,000 to Watson's account, according to court documents. Watson has not been charged over the Feeding our Future fraud, but faces separate counts related to tax evasion.
Prosecutors slammed Bock over the 'brazen and staggering' scheme, which is one of multiple industrial-scale frauds recently unearthed in Minnesota.
Things were once so different for the mom-of-two.
Bock, who moved to the Minneapolis area in 2009, lived in a five-bedroom, four-bathroom in Apple Valley, records showed
Aimee Bock, 45, is facing up to 50 years in jail after being convicted of masterminding the US' largest Covid–era scam by lining her pockets with funds meant to feed needy kids
Prior to her arrest, Bock lived a seemingly-charmed life in Minneapolis, where she moved in 2009, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
She resided in a $473,000 home in Rosemount, which sits on the edge of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with her then-husband Theodore and the couple's two sons.
An early sign of financial stress appeared in 2013 when the couple filed for bankruptcy.
That was because of thousands of dollars in medical bills linked to their youngest son, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. Further details on the nature of his illness have not been publicly disclosed.
Problems behind closed doors put a terminal strain on the Bocks marriage. They filed for divorce in 2015, with the lawsuit dragging on for seven years, until September 2022.
It is unclear why proceedings took so long to conclude - and when Bock took up with her new man Empress Watson.
She swapped her marital home for an even more impressive five-bedroom, four bathroom in the Minneapolis suburb of Apple Valley, which was bought for $541,000.
Previously, Bock had been living a typical life with her kids in the Minnesota city of Rosemount
Bock was still married to Theodore Bock while the scam was unfolding but the two were in the midst of a divorce. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing
The Bocks filed for divorce in 2015 but the case was not marked closed until September 2022
That September, Watson shared photographs of he and Bock looking cozy together on Facebook.
A search warrant viewed by the Daily Mail indicates that, just weeks before, Bock deposited a $310,000 check into a personal account held by her and ex–husband at US Bank around August 13, 2021.
The money was used on personal expenses, according to bank records.
That included a $4,743 purchase at HOM Furniture and more than $1,400 in purchases at the outlet mall in Eagan, roughly 20 miles southeast of Minneapolis.
About two weeks later, Bock also allegedly made out a $70,000 cashier's check to her ex–husband Theodore.
It was not clear what happened to the check afterwards, or if Bock's former beau was aware of it.
He has never been charged with any crime and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on his part.
The filing alleges Bock stole about $600,000 in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds through a shell company called Happy Helper's [sic] LLC created by Watson.
The funds, which were sent to a Wells Fargo account in the name of Watson's company between March 2020 and July 2021, were used to finance the pair's ritzy trip to Vegas, prosecutors said.
Photos on Watson's public Facebook profile also showed him in an assortment of expensive sports cars, as well as posing with a lovestruck-looking Bock.
Watson was subsequently charged with tax offenses after the authorities were tipped off during the probe into Bock
Prosecutors said Bock used federal funds to fund a lavish lifestyle for her and Watson including luxury cars and getaways
On top of the more lavish expenses, the couple also utilized the money to purchase ordinary items, per the filing.
That included expenditures of more than $14,000 at both Dick's Sporting Goods and Home Depot, the filing added.
Bock's home address was listed on both the bank account and incorporation documents for Watson's business, per the legal documents.
She, Watson and the alleged shell company had received mail at the residence since December 2021, according to US Postal Service records.
Watson was the account's sole signatory.
Bock was not listed as a signatory, though bank records showed that she signed checks drawn on the account.
Watson was not charged in connection with the fraud. However, last September, he was was charged with two felony counts of filing false or fraudulent individual income tax returns, one count of failing to file individual income tax return and three counts of failing to pay income tax.
Investigators began diving into Watson's tax history after they received a tip 'related to a separate criminal investigation of his significant other,' according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Bock enters court with her lawyer Kenneth Udoibok in February 2025. She was convicted the following month
Bock's lawyers have begged the judge for leniency ahead of her sentencing
Watson was accused of spending more than $680,000 on jewelry, travel and vehicles while underreporting his taxable income by 'hundreds of thousands of dollars.'
The Minnesota Department of Revenue said his income was around $1 million between 2020 and 2022, with funds coming from his work 'at his significant other's business' as well as his own remodeling firm.
He also did not file a tax return in 2022 and did not pay any income tax either, according to the agency which said he owed more than $64,000.
If found guilty, each tax–related felony charge is punishable with up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
He already has an extensive criminal record that included nearly 100 entries, including convictions for terrorist threats, theft and domestic assault.
Despite the vasts sums of cash Bock lavished on Watson, the couple have since split up, according to KSTP.
In 2024, he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend at the time - not Bock - according to Center of the American Experiment, a Minnesota think tank.
That came after he was arrested for driving under the influence with his 11-year-old son in the back seat of his rolled-over SUV with a broken ankle.
Bock is seen in her mugshot. She claimed to be unaware of the massive fraud
At least 65 people have been convicted since late 2022 in relation to the fraudulent scheme, according to the US Department of Justice.
Bock will be sentenced on Thursday after being convicted last year. She is among 79 people who were charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future case, which prosecutors said was the country's largest Covid–era fraud and was described by the judge as the 'mastermind' of the plot.
Udoibok, her attorney, said in a legal filing that Bock 'did not enter the criminal justice system with a history of financial crimes, theft, or recidivism,' the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
'Her lack of criminal history strongly indicates that she poses a low future danger to the public,' he added.
Bock told the court that she 'didn't have a clue' about the scam, but prosecutors shot back that her 'willful blindness' was not an excuse for her crimes.
Minnesota US Attorney Daniel Rosen has pushed for Bock to spend 50 years in prison, as that 'appropriately reflects the seriousness of [her] crimes.'
'The brazen and staggering nature of her crimes has shaken Minnesota to its core, leaving lasting damage and eroding public trust,' Rosen said.
'Her actions have permanently altered the state, and not for the better,' he added.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Theodore Bock and Empress Watson for comment.