Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, a suspected participant in a scheme that defrauded Minnesota taxpayers of over $300 million, has been apprehended in Somalia and returned to the United States. Eidleh was flown back to Minnesota last week and is currently being held without bail in the Sherburne County Jail.
Eidleh was indicted nearly four years ago in connection with a broad fraud operation linked to the charity Feeding Our Future. He is alleged to have been second-in-command to Aimee Bock, the convicted leader of the scheme, who was sentenced in May to over 41 years for defrauding taxpayers through fraudulent reimbursements to the food charity. Witnesses at Bock's trial indicated that Eidleh leveraged his connections within the East African restaurant community in Minnesota to instruct owners on inflating meal counts and submitting false invoices for government-funded meal programs.
Prosecutors contend that Eidleh received kickbacks from these illicit reimbursements. The scheme reportedly continued for several years, including during the pandemic. Eidleh fled the U.S. after being charged with federal fraud and money laundering offenses.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen stated that Eidleh's arrest exemplifies "how far the arm of American law enforcement can reach, and that you can run, but you cannot hide." Eidleh allegedly used the Feeding Our Future program and his own fabricated meal websites to falsely claim the distribution of thousands of meals to children and families.
One restaurant owner, Lul Bashir Ali, testified that she paid Eidleh $30,000 monthly in kickbacks and stated that the Somali community was central to the scheme. Ali, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to defrauding taxpayers of $5 million, said restauranteurs trusted Eidleh because he was Somali. Prosecutors assert that Eidleh received over $5 million in kickbacks, bribes, and other fraud proceeds.
Eidleh's arrest in Mogadishu follows the recent apprehension of another alleged conspirator, Said Ereg, 47, who was arrested in Kenya. Ereg surrendered to authorities after being listed on the FBI's 'Most Wanted Fraudsters' list, with prosecutors alleging he also defrauded millions through child nutrition programs. FBI Director Kash Patel described Eidleh's arrest as a "historic moment in this FBI's war on fraud."