🚨BREAKING: MANHUNT OVER - THE FBI JUST ARRESTED HIM
Fugitive in $250 Million Child Nutrition Fraud Case Captured in Somalia
Federal prosecutors say Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh spent nearly four years avoiding prosecution in one of Minnesota’s largest fraud cases before authorities located him in Mogadishu.
WASHINGTON — A Minnesota man accused of playing a central role in a massive scheme that diverted federal money intended to feed low-income children has been captured in Somalia after nearly four years as a fugitive, the Justice Department announced.
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu. His arrest ends an international search connected to the sprawling Feeding Our Future investigation, a case federal prosecutors say involved approximately $250 million in fraudulent claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eidleh was initially charged in September 2022. He now faces 31 federal counts, including wire fraud, bribery, money laundering and conspiracy offenses.
The charges are allegations, and Eidleh has not been convicted.
Prosecutors say he held a central role
According to court filings, Eidleh worked for Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota nonprofit that sponsored meal-distribution sites participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program.
The organization was responsible for helping approve and oversee sites that claimed reimbursement for meals served to children. Prosecutors allege that Eidleh used that position to recruit and support operators who submitted inflated or entirely false claims.
Investigators say many of the sites reported serving thousands of meals every day, even though the food was never purchased, prepared or distributed in the quantities claimed.
The government alleges that Eidleh and others turned the approval process into a “pay-to-play” arrangement. Businesses and individuals seeking sponsorship allegedly paid bribes and kickbacks to Feeding Our Future employees in exchange for access to federal reimbursement money.
Some of those payments were reportedly disguised as consulting fees and moved through shell companies to conceal their true purpose.
Nominee owners and fabricated vendors
Federal prosecutors also accuse Eidleh of establishing meal sites under the names of nominee owners, allowing the people who actually controlled the operations to remain hidden.
Those sites allegedly submitted false attendance records, meal counts and reimbursement requests. Prosecutors say Eidleh also created companies that appeared to be legitimate food vendors but existed primarily to produce fabricated invoices.
The invoices were then used to support claims for millions of dollars in federal funds.
Authorities allege that more than $5 million in fraud proceeds, kickbacks and bribe payments moved through bank accounts connected to Eidleh’s shell companies.
The money, prosecutors say, had been intended to provide meals for children from low-income families during the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Justice Department condemns alleged theft
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald described Eidleh as a central figure in one of the largest fraud cases ever prosecuted in Minnesota.
McDonald said the alleged scheme harmed both American taxpayers and children who depended on the nutrition program.
He also accused Eidleh of fleeing to Somalia rather than returning to the United States to answer the charges, praising the FBI and its international partners for ending the search.
One of the largest pandemic fraud investigations
The Feeding Our Future prosecution has grown into one of the most significant pandemic-related fraud cases in the country.
Federal authorities have charged dozens of people accused of using fraudulent meal sites, fabricated attendance lists and false invoices to obtain roughly $250 million from federally funded child nutrition programs.
Prosecutors say the scheme expanded rapidly after federal rules were temporarily relaxed during the pandemic, allowing restaurants and other organizations to distribute meals outside traditional school settings.
Those changes were intended to ensure that children continued receiving food while schools were closed. Investigators allege that defendants instead exploited the emergency system for personal profit.
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With Eidleh now in custody, federal officials are expected to begin the process of returning him to the United States.
He could face substantial prison time if convicted of the fraud, bribery and money-laundering charges. Authorities have not yet announced when he will make his first appearance in a U.S. federal courtroom.
