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Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, a central suspect in the Feeding Our Future child nutrition aid fraud scheme, is apprehended in Mogadishu, Somalia. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigati
Confirmed
According to court documents, Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future, an organization that claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic under a federal child nutrition program.
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a news release. However, the Department of Justice said his arrest was the result of cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.
McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said Eidleh was a central figure in “one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history. Eidleh is one of dozens of people who were indicted in 2022 in connection with what prosecutors said was a massive scheme to defraud a federal meals program.
According to prosecutors, Eidleh recruited operators into the scheme and collected bribes and kickbacks, often disguised as consulting fees and funnelled through shell companies. Rosen said Eidleh was "second in command" to Aimee Bock , the convicted ringleader of the scheme, who was just sentenced to more than 40 years in prison.
"The chapter for Feeding Our Future might be closing, but we're still in the beginning of making sure we protect the American taxpayer," Rosen said Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice,” McDonald said.
A federal judge blocked the termination in March, and the legal fight continues. "This shows the global reach and outstretched arm of American law enforcement," said Christopher Dotson, FBI Special Agent in Charge at FBI Minneapolis.
What's confirmed
- According to court documents, Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future, an organization that claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic under a federal child nutrition program
- Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu, U.S.
- McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said Eidleh was a central figure in “one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.
- According to prosecutors, Eidleh recruited operators into the scheme and collected bribes and kickbacks, often disguised as consulting fees and funnelled through shell companies.
- "The chapter for Feeding Our Future might be closing, but we're still in the beginning of making sure we protect the American taxpayer," Rosen said Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somal
- A federal judge blocked the termination in March, and the legal fight continues.
What's still developing
- However, the Department of Justice said his arrest was the result of cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.
- According to prosecutors, Eidleh recruited operators into the scheme and collected bribes and kickbacks, often disguised as consulting fees and funnelled through shell companies.
- A federal judge blocked the termination in March, and the legal fight continues.
- Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a news release.
- Eidleh is one of dozens of people who were indicted in 2022 in connection with what prosecutors said was a massive scheme to defraud a federal meals program.
- According to court documents, Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future, an organization that claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic under a federal child nutrition…
- McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said Eidleh was a central figure in “one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.
- Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice,” McDonald said.