Somalia arrests Feeding Our Future fraud suspect after four years

Somali authorities arrested Abdikerm Eidleh, a central suspect in Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future fraud case, after more than four years as an international fugitive. The case centers on pandemic-era child nutrition money that prosecutors say was siphoned into kickbacks, fake meal counts and sham sites.

Eidleh was charged on Sept. 20, 2022, in the Justice Department’s case against 47 defendants in what prosecutors called a $250 million fraud scheme tied to the federal Child Nutrition Program. He was identified at the time as 39 and of Burnsville, Minnesota, and was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

Federal prosecutors allege Eidleh worked for Feeding Our Future, where he solicited and received bribes and kickbacks from individuals and sites under the nonprofit’s sponsorship. He also created his own fraudulent sites. Court filings in related cases identified him as a site support manager and a key recruiter who directed operators to inflate meal counts and attendance rosters.

Feeding Our Future opened more than 250 sites across Minnesota between March 2020 and January 2022 and falsely claimed to have served 125 million meals, collecting more than $18 million in administrative fees it was not entitled to receive.

Eidleh was already in Somalia when he was charged in 2022 and remained outside U.S. custody until the arrest this week. In one related case, prosecutors allege he received at least $140,000 in kickbacks. In another, a defendant paid him $5,000 in kickbacks and an additional $49,000.

The broader Feeding Our Future investigation has produced dozens of convictions and guilty pleas. Sahan Journal counted 78 people charged in the case, while NewsNation counted nearly 90 convictions in related proceedings.