Federal authorities announced on Saturday. June 27, that Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody on Thursday in Mogadishu, Somalia. Eidleh had been a fugitive since his indictment in September 2022 as one of the original defendants in the Feeding Our Future investigation.
He is charged with 31 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald noted that Eidleh stole taxpayer dollars intended for vulnerable children and fled to Somalia rather than face charges in the United States.
Eidleh was a former employee of Feeding Our Future, the Minnesota nonprofit at the center of the scheme. According to court records and witness accounts, he served as a key recruiter and coordinator. He allegedly recruited business owners to operate fraudulent child meal sites under the nonprofit’s sponsorship in the federal Child Nutrition Program.
These sites submitted claims for meals that were never served to children.
Eidleh is accused of operating within a pay-to-play structure in which site operators paid bribes and kickbacks to participate. Examples cited in proceedings include one operator who paid approximately $30,000 per month in kickbacks, with payments verified in video calls, and another who paid a total of $150,000, including a demanded 5 percent cut of reimbursements.
Eidleh allegedly threatened to cancel contracts for nonpayment. He is further alleged to have instructed participants on inflating meal counts and submitting false invoices for food never purchased.
Prosecutors state he deposited more than $5 million in kickbacks, bribes, and fraud proceeds into accounts opened through shell companies.
The broader Feeding Our Future case involves the alleged misuse of federal funds from the Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding Our Future, founded and led by Aimee Bock, sponsored more than 250 meal sites in Minnesota.
Federal reimbursements to the nonprofit rose sharply from $3.4 million in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021. Authorities allege that operators of numerous sites submitted false claims for unserved meals, with portions of the proceeds returned as bribes and kickbacks. The total fraud amount in the case is approximately $250 million.
Federal prosecutors have charged at least 79 individuals across multiple indictments in connection with the scheme. As of early 2026, more than 60 defendants had pleaded guilty or been convicted.
Aimee Bock, the founder and former executive director of Feeding Our Future, was tried alongside co-defendant Salim Said.
A jury convicted Bock on all counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. On May 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Bock to 500 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
The judge described the case as a “fraud vortex” with Bock at the epicenter and stated that a lesser sentence would not serve justice for the people of Minnesota. Bock was also ordered to pay substantial restitution to the federal government.
Eidleh is expected to be returned to the United States to face the pending charges. His arrest follows the earlier capture of other defendants in the investigation and concludes a multi-year effort by federal and international law enforcement to locate him.
The case remains one of the largest pandemic-era fraud prosecutions pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Eidleh’s role extended to supporting the creation and maintenance of the vendor and site networks that formed the operational backbone of the fraud.
As a fluent Somali speaker with connections in the community, he facilitated enrollment and compliance with the false reporting requirements. His actions, as detailed in charging documents, positioned him as a central operational figure linking the nonprofit sponsor with the individual site operators who executed the daily false claims.
The overall investigation has unfolded through successive indictments, beginning with a large group that included Eidleh and dozens of others in 2022. Subsequent rounds of charges brought the total number of defendants to at least 79.
Guilty pleas have addressed various levels of involvement, from site operators who submitted inflated claims to individuals who handled money movement and concealment.
Convictions at trial, including that of Bock, have addressed leadership roles in the nonprofit and coordination of the broader enterprise.
