Updated
Updated · KSTP · Jun 27
Abdikerm Eidleh Arrested in Somalia Over $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud
Updated
Updated · KSTP · Jun 27

Abdikerm Eidleh Arrested in Somalia Over $250 Million Feeding Our Future Fraud

3 articles · Updated · KSTP · Jun 27

Summary

  • Mogadishu authorities took Abdikerm Eidleh, 42, into custody Thursday, capturing a key alleged operator in the Feeding Our Future case after years as a fugitive.
  • Prosecutors say Eidleh ran shell companies, recruited fraudulent food sites and claimed to serve thousands of children a day, funneling more than $5 million in proceeds through related accounts.
  • The charges include wire fraud, federal programs bribery and money laundering; court records also allege he made a $95,000 mortgage payment on a Burnsville home with fraud-linked funds.
  • FBI officials said Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency helped locate and apprehend Eidleh, who investigators believe fled the United States about two months before initial search warrants in the sprawling Minnesota scheme.

Insights

After a four-year manhunt, can authorities now recover the millions stolen from children's food programs?
How vulnerable are America's aid programs to sophisticated fraud schemes that exploit national emergencies?
Will the new 'Stop Child Care Scams Act' hurt legitimate providers more than it stops criminals?