Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, a key figure in Minnesota's alleged $250 million COVID-19 fraud scheme, has been arrested in Mogadishu, Somalia. The arrest occurred on Thursday, with the FBI confirming the assistance of Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency in locating and apprehending Eidleh. Prosecutors have described the Feeding Our Future scam as the largest COVID-era fraud in the United States.
Eidleh, who had been indicted in September 2022, is accused of playing a central role in the scheme, which involved fraudulently obtaining federal funds by claiming to provide meals for children. Prosecutors allege that Feeding Our Future received approximately $250 million in federal money while falsely reporting the preparation of millions of meals. Eidleh reportedly recruited and sponsored Federal Child Nutrition Program sites for the scheme and created his own sites, submitting fraudulent invoices through shell companies. He is accused of depositing over $5 million into these companies' accounts.
"Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice," said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald. "Eidleh not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed."
Christopher Dotson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Minneapolis Field Office, stated that authorities had been tracking Eidleh's whereabouts for several weeks and praised the cooperation with Somali authorities. "We were hand in glove in this investigation from the start, and we owe a lot of gratitude to them for the success of this operation," Dotson said.
Eidleh is considered by some prosecutors to be the "second in command" to Aimee Bock, the founder of Feeding Our Future. Bock was convicted last March for her role in the scam and sentenced to over 41 years in prison in May. The indictment against Eidleh includes 31 counts, such as conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, bribery, and money laundering. He is one of 79 individuals charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future case, with most defendants being members of Minnesota's Somali American community. As of now, 59 defendants have pleaded guilty.
Eidleh reportedly left the U.S. in November 2021. His capture in Mogadishu occurs approximately 33 years after the 1993 Black Hawk Down incident in the same city, where two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, resulting in the deaths of 18 American soldiers. Officials have not yet disclosed the specific methods used to locate and arrest Eidleh. Court documents do not indicate whether he has secured legal representation.