Suspected Somali fraudster is arrested in his home country and flown back to Minnesota to face $300m taxpayer scam charges

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:06, 17 July 2026 | Updated: 18:12, 17 July 2026 A suspected Somali fraudster accused of running a scheme that stole over $300 million in taxpayer funds in Minnesota was flown back to the United States after being captured in his home country.  Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, was indicted almost four years ago in a wide-ranging scheme tied to his charity Feeding Our Future, but he went on the run and escaped back to Somalia.  Prosecutors alleged that Eidleh was second-in-command to convicted fraudster Aimee Bock, who was sentenced in May to over 41 years in prison for orchestrating a plot to defraud taxpayers through reimbursements to the food charity.  Witnesses at Bock's trial said Eidleh would use his connections to East African restaurant owners in Minnesota and show them how to inflate meal counts and submit false invoices to be reimbursed through government-funded meal programs.  Restaurant owners would reportedly be more comfortable discussing the scam with him because he spoke their language, and Eidleh allegedly received kickbacks from the ill-gotten reimbursements, reports the Minnesota Star Tribune. The scheme continued for years throughout the pandemic, with Eidleh fleeing the US after he was indicted on federal fraud and money laundering charges.  He was arrested in Mogadishu and flown back to Minnesota last week, where he was booked into the Sherburne County Jail and he remains held without bail.  Eidleh's arrest was praised by U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen as an example of 'how far the arm of American law enforcement can reach, and that you can run, but you cannot hide.'  Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, a suspected Somali fraudster accused of running a scheme that stole over $300 million in taxpayer funds in Minnesota, was flown back to the United Sates after being captured in his home country Eidleh was indicted almost four years ago in a wide-ranging scheme tied to his charity Feeding Our Future, but he went on the run and escaped back to Somalia. The offices of the allegedly fraudulent charity are pictured  Prosecutors alleged that Eidleh used the Feeding Our Future program and his own fake meal websites to fraudulently claim to be serving thousands of meals to children and poverty-stricken families At Bock's trial, Eidleh was repeatedly alleged by witnesses as a ringleader of the scheme who worked with Bock to swindle the state out of millions.  One restaurant owner, Lul Bashir Ali, testified that she paid Eidleh $30,000 every month in kickbacks.  She said that the Somali community was central to the ploy, and that Eidleh would allegedly communicate as the face of the Feeding Our Future to show restauranteurs how to file fraudulent claims.  'We trust them, because they are Somali,' Ali said.  Ali pleaded guilty in 2023 to defrauding taxpayers of $5 million through the meal program.  Prosecutors said Eidleh received over $5 million in 'kickbacks, bribes and other fraud proceeds', alleging he ordered restaurant owners to pay him monthly to orchestrate the scheme.  FBI agents seen during a raid on the Feeding Our Future offices in January 2022, shortly before Eidleh was first indicted  Authorities announcing Eidleh's indictment in 2022, before he fled to Somalia. This week, prosecutors said his arrest shows 'how far the arm of American law enforcement can reach, and that you can run, but you cannot hide' Eidleh's arrest in Mogadishu came just weeks after another alleged conspirator in the Feeding Our Future scheme, Said Ereg, 47, was also arrested after he fled to Kenya.  Ereg surrendered to authorities after being named on the FBI 'Most Wanted Fraudsters' list, as prosecutors alleged he also swindled millions through child nutrition programs.  Following the arrest of Eidleh, FBI Director Kash Patel praised it as a 'historic moment in this FBI's war on fraud.' 'This FBI has already helped secure over 70 guilty pleas from fraudsters in partnership with the Justice Department, [and] Eidleh was allegedly right at the top of the operation,' Patel said in a statement.