Mogadishu, Somalia — United States prosecutors have arrested a man in Somalia accused of playing a leading role in one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases in US history.
Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, was detained in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday. US authorities announced the arrest on Friday, marking one of the clearest indications that efforts to pursue suspects linked to the case now extend beyond US borders.
Officials in neither country disclosed how Eidleh was located. However, the US Department of Justice said the arrest resulted from cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.
Prosecutors allege that Eidleh was a senior figure in a scheme centred on Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota-based non-profit organisation accused of diverting federal funds intended to provide meals for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, US authorities charged 47 people in connection with what they said was a $250m fraud involving a federal child nutrition programme. At the time, it was described as the largest pandemic-relief fraud case prosecuted in the United States.
According to prosecutors, Eidleh fled to Somalia as investigators closed in on those involved.
They allege that he recruited participants into the scheme and received bribes and kickbacks disguised as consulting payments and routed through shell companies.
Court documents further accuse him of establishing meal distribution sites using nominee owners, falsely claiming to serve thousands of children daily, and creating fictitious supplier companies to submit fraudulent invoices for food that was never delivered.
US Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen described Eidleh as a central figure in the operation.
“This is a big fish,” Rosen told CBS News, alleging that Eidleh played a significant role in recruiting businesses and coordinating fraudulent activity.
The alleged architect of the scheme, Aimee Bock, was recently sentenced to more than 40 years in prison.
Somali authorities have not publicly commented on the arrest. However, a senior Somali official told Al Jazeera that the government had concerns about foreign nationals and dual citizens returning to Somalia to evade legal proceedings abroad.
Political fallout and community tensions
The Feeding Our Future case has also become part of a broader political debate in the United States surrounding immigration and fraud enforcement.
The Trump administration has highlighted the case while increasing scrutiny of Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest Somali diaspora population in the US, concentrated in the Minneapolis–St Paul area.
According to available demographic data, most Somali Americans in the state are either US-born or naturalised citizens.
Somalia was included in a renewed travel restrictions policy introduced after President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025. The administration has also proposed measures targeting citizenship status for naturalised Americans convicted of certain offences.
Separately, the administration moved to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 1,100 Somali nationals living in the United States. The designation, which had been in place since 1991, protects eligible individuals from deportation.
A federal judge blocked the move in March, and legal proceedings remain ongoing.
Some of the administration’s rhetoric and immigration enforcement actions have prompted criticism and protests, particularly in Minnesota.
