A man US prosecutors describe as a central figure in a sweeping scheme to steal federal money meant to feed hungry children has been arrested in Somalia, ending nearly four years on the run.
Caught in Mogadishu
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody in Mogadishu on June 25, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The FBI coordinated the operation with Somalia's national intelligence agency, Al Jazeera reported — an unusual case of direct cooperation between US and Somali authorities on a domestic fraud matter. Eidleh had been charged in 2022 but, prosecutors say, had already left the country before the indictment was unsealed.
The Feeding Our Future case
The charges stem from the collapse of Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota nonprofit that was authorized to distribute federal child-nutrition funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors allege that participants exploited that role to invent hundreds of meal sites claiming to feed children who, in many cases, were never served. In total, the scheme allegedly diverted about $250 million in taxpayer money, CBS News reported, making it one of the largest pandemic-relief frauds the Justice Department has prosecuted.
The case has already produced dozens of prosecutions. According to CBS News, 79 people have been charged in connection with Feeding Our Future, and 66 have been convicted or pleaded guilty. Aimee Bock, the nonprofit's executive director and the person prosecutors have called the scheme's architect, was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.
What prosecutors allege Eidleh did
Eidleh faces a 31-count indictment. Prosecutors allege he recruited businesses to enroll as fraudulent meal sites under the nonprofit's umbrella, collected payments disguised as fees, and directed participants to inflate the number of meals claimed in reimbursement requests submitted to the state. They say more than $5 million in proceeds flowed into accounts tied to him.
US officials cast the arrest as proof that fleeing abroad offers no permanent refuge. The FBI's Minneapolis office said the case showed that distance would not shield those who defraud American taxpayers, and the US Attorney's Office described Eidleh as a key figure in recruiting businesses into the scheme.
What comes next
Authorities have not detailed how or when Eidleh will be transferred to the United States to face the charges. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, has not entered a plea, and his defense had not commented publicly. The arrest, coming nearly four years after the indictment, adds another chapter to a fraud case that has reshaped how Minnesota and federal agencies scrutinize pandemic-era nutrition programs.
