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Somali authorities teamed up with the FBI to capture an accused ringleader of the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in Mogadishu, more than four years after he fled the US to dodge the charges against him.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: If you’re unaware, the state of Minnesota has been getting a lot of shit related to the Feeding Our Future scandal (what prosecutors call one of the largest pandemic-relief frauds in the country). The nonprofit claimed to be feeding millions of hungry kids on the back of a federal child nutrition program meant to keep them fed while schools and daycares were closed. Instead, prosecutors say it became the vehicle for a sprawling “pay-to-play” operation that siphoned off roughly $250 million. Operators set up bullshit meal distribution sites across the state, then hammered the Minnesota Department of Education with massively inflated reimbursement claims, lying about how many kids they were actually feeding. Most of that federal money ever went towards hungry children and most of it got washed through shell companies dressed up as meal vendors and blown on real estate, high-end cars and trips. According to the DOJ, site operators kicked back a share of their proceeds to the people running the scheme, often disguising the payments as consulting fees. In all, prosecutors have said the fraud across Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded programs could be in the billions. To date, charges have come down against 79 people in the case, the bulk of them of Somali descent, and 66 of those have already been convicted or taken a plea deal.
What’s going on now: US and Somali authorities have taken Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, into custody after a daylight raid in Mogadishu on Thursday, with the FBI and Somalia’s national intelligence agency running the operation together. US officials announced the arrest Friday, calling Eidleh the number two behind Aimee Bock. Bock, the woman convicted of masterminding the entire operation, was hit with more than 40 years in prison last month.
“This is a big fish,” said Daniel Rosen, the US Attorney for Minnesota. “Eidleh was a key leader and was responsible for bribing and recruiting businesses to steal from the American taxpayer.” FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson kept it short. “Somalia is not the safe haven you may think it is.”
Eidleh was indicted in September 2022 and skipped town for Somalia once the whole operation started to collapse. Prosecutors say he worked for Feeding Our Future, where he recruited and propped up the fraudulent meal sites, and personally walked away with north of $5 million in bribes and kickbacks by leaning on restaurants and caterers to pad the receipts they were sending in to get reimbursed.
Prosecutors also say he set up a batch of bullshit sites himself, registering them under front owners, claiming each one was feeding thousands of kids every single day, and spinning up fake supplier outfits that billed taxpayers for deliveries that never showed.
The indictment hits him with 31 counts spanning wire fraud, federal programs bribery and money laundering. There’s nothing in the court file yet showing he’s lawyered up, and no plea’s been entered.
