'Central figure' in $250 MILLION Feeding Our Future fraud scheme arrested in Somalia

A Somali man described by federal prosecutors as a “central figure” in a $250 million Feeding Our Futures fraud scheme in Minnesota has been arrested in Somalia after spending nearly four years on the run.

The Department of Justice announced on Friday that 42-year-old Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh was arrested this week in Mogadishu. Eidleh was one of the defendants originally charged in the Feeding Our Future scheme in 2022.

In September of 2022, Eideh faced 31 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.

The Feeding Our Future scheme was the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme. Prosecutors allege that the organization stole relief funds from a federal program that was intended to feed hungry children.

Eidleh was an employee at Feeding Our Future and was responsible for recruiting and supporting Federal Child Nutrition Program sites under the organization’s sponsorship, per the DOJ. Authorities said that he and other employees received bribes from individuals and companies that were seeking approval to operate fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program sites.

“This defendant was a central figure in one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “He not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed. Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice. That attempt ended thanks to the exceptional work of our FBI partners. The Department of Justice will continue to track down and prosecute fraudsters wherever they run and wherever they hide.”

Minnesota US Attorney Daniel Rosen added that Eidleh’s arrest shows that “if you commit fraud against the American taxpayer, and try hiding across the globe, the long arm of justice will find you.”

“We salute the FBI’s work in finding Eidleh, and are grateful to all our federal and international partners that help us hold accountable those who defraud our government,” he added.