The former head of a St. Louis-area nonprofit was sentenced to prison for stealing $19.7 million from a program designed to feed Missouri children, in what officials called the state’s greatest public assistance fraud in history.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig sentenced Connie Bobo, 46, of St. Charles, to 16 years in prison and ordered her to repay the money. Indicted in October 2023, she was found guilty by a jury in October 2025 on three counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of obstruction.
Related posts
Bobo was the executive director of the New Heights Community Resource Center, which received funding from a state program to serve meals to low-income, school-aged children after school and during the summer.
Bobo collected a total of $19.7 million in state reimbursement dollars while spending only $6.8 million on food and milk, according to evidence. Officials stated that the full $19.7 million was collected fraudulently as a result of her enrollment in the program.
