A man described by federal officials as a “central figure” in a $250 million Minnesota welfare fraud case has been arrested in Somalia after nearly four years as a fugitive, the Justice Department said Friday.
Abdikerm Eidleh, 42, was among the first defendants charged in the sprawling Feeding Our Future case, which prosecutors have called the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country. Authorities said he was arrested Thursday in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.
Eidleh was indicted in September 2022 on 31 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering. Prosecutors allege he helped divert pandemic relief money from a federal program intended to provide meals to children in need.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, described as President Trump’s fraud czar, called Eidleh a “central figure in one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.”
“He not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed,” McDonald said in a statement.
McDonald said Eidleh fled to Somalia instead of facing the charges in the United States, calling the move “a futile attempt to evade justice.” He credited the FBI with helping bring the search to an end.
READ MORE: American Hiker Ian Treger Missing in Peru as Family Appeals for Help with Search
“The Department of Justice will continue to track down and prosecute fraudsters wherever they run and wherever they hide,” McDonald said.
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the arrest sends a clear message: “if you commit fraud against the American taxpayer, and try hiding across the globe, the long arm of justice will find you.”
The indictment against Eidleh alleges he was responsible for recruiting and supporting criminals who set up sham food sites and fake vendor networks to bill the government for millions of meals that were never actually served to children.
Eidleh and other Feeding Our Future employees solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from individuals and companies seeking approval to operate fraudulent meal distribution sites, according to the DOJ.
The indictment further alleges that Eidleh created his own fraudulent food sites, claimed his sites were serving meals to thousands of children per day and created shell companies purporting to be meal vendors for his fake sites.
“Eidleh deposited more than $5 million in kickbacks, bribes, and other fraud proceeds into accounts associated with his shell companies, using them to conceal the true nature and source of the illegally obtained funds,” according to the DOJ.
Aimee Bock, the mastermind behind the Feeding Our Future scam, was slapped with a 41 year prison sentence in May after being convicted of all counts.
At least 79 people have been charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future scheme and more than 60 have been convicted of crimes.
