A man accused of playing a leading role in one of the biggest pandemic fraud cases in United States history has been arrested in Somalia after spending more than four years on the run.
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was arrested in Mogadishu on Thursday following a joint operation involving the FBI and Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, according to the US Department of Justice. He is expected to face extradition to the United States to answer dozens of federal charges.
Federal prosecutors say Eidleh was a senior figure in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, which siphoned money from a federal child nutrition programme created to feed vulnerable children during the Covid pandemic. Investigators allege he helped create fake meal distribution sites, invented food suppliers and submitted false claims stating thousands of children were being fed every day when many of the meals never existed.
According to the indictment, Eidleh also recruited participants into the scheme, collected bribes and kickbacks disguised as consulting fees and funnelled millions of dollars through shell companies. Prosecutors say he laundered more than $5 million in fraud proceeds, which were allegedly spent on luxury vehicles, property and travel instead of feeding children.
He faces 31 federal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, federal programmes bribery and money laundering. Court records show he has not yet entered a plea or appeared before a US court.
US Attorney Daniel Rosen described Eidleh as a key player in the conspiracy, saying his arrest shows that those who steal from American taxpayers cannot escape justice by fleeing overseas. FBI officials also said the operation demonstrated the global reach of US law enforcement through international cooperation.
Prosecutors have described Eidleh as the alleged second in command to Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock, who was recently sentenced to more than 40 years in prison after being convicted of masterminding the fraud. The wider investigation has grown significantly since 2022, with at least 79 people charged and more than 60 convicted or pleading guilty in connection with the scheme, making it one of the largest pandemic relief fraud prosecutions in US history.
The case has also attracted political attention. President Donald Trump previously cited the Feeding Our Future scandal while defending a broad immigration crackdown in Minnesota, arguing the fraud exposed weaknesses in government oversight.
