A “central figure” in a $250 million Minnesota welfare fraud scheme was arrested in Somalia this week after spending nearly four years on the run, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Abdikerm Eidleh, 42, was one of the original suspects indicted in connection to the nation’s largest COVID-19 fraud scheme – the infamous Feeding Our Future scam. He was taken into custody in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu on Thursday, according to prosecutors.
In September 2022, Eidleh was hit with 31 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering for his alleged role in the scheme to steal pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed hungry children in need.
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