The FBI finally caught him. After four years on the run, the man who helped orchestrate one of the largest pandemic fraud schemes in American history was back on U. S. soil, and Abdul Karim Eidleh wasn’t getting a hero’s welcome.
He was getting handcuffs. Eidleh, now 42, had been hiding in Somalia since fleeing the country shortly after federal prosecutors unsealed a 31-count indictment against him. The charges ranged from wire fraud and bribery to money laundering—all connected to his role in the massive “Feeding Our Future” scheme. Investigators alleged he worked closely with Amy Bock, the mastermind behind the operation that siphoned off hundreds of millions of dollars from federal child nutrition programs.
According to prosecutors, Eidleh deposited more than $5 million in kickbacks, bribes, and other proceeds into his personal accounts before disappearing. For years, he remained beyond reach. Then the FBI’s forensic accountants followed the money trail across the globe—all the way to Mogadishu, nearly 8,000 miles away. Working alongside international law enforcement partners,agents tracked him down and brought him back.
He was flown from Somalia to Minnesota, where he now sits in the Sherburne County Jail. FBI Director Kash Patel called the arrest a historic moment in the bureau’s war on fraud. “Criminals around the world should know this was the 25th extradition the FBI has carried out in the last month alone,” he said. “No matter where you try to hide, we will find you.
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Eidleh wasn’t just any player in the scheme—prosecutors described him as the second-most important figure in the operation after Amy Bock,who was already sentenced to 42 years in prison. But his case carried even more political weight, because he was one of only two defendants in the case who had direct connections to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s office. At one point, he had even been inside her office. The question now was whether that connection would become part of the investigation.
Evidence emerging years earlier already raised eyebrows. During Bach’s trial, records revealed multiple contacts between Bock and Omar’s staff. In February 2021, an email exchange between Bock and Omar’s office was titled “Help with USDA Food Programs”—the very programs that were being defrauded of over $250 million. Two weeks later, Bock emailed Eidleh with the subject line“Ilhan’s Office.
” There were also text message threads between Bock and Omar’s staff. What was in those messages? No one knew—a court ordered them sealed. When Minnesota state legislators investigating the fraud asked Omar to turn over records of her office’s contacts with individuals charged or convicted in the case, she refused.
One of her former aides had already pleaded guilty. Juhad Hassan Sayhad, who once worked for Omar, admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the federal child nutrition program. Prosecutors alleged he participated in a scheme to falsify meal counts in order to illegally obtain government funds meant for children. His guilty plea was part of a broader investigation that swept upmultiple defendants in the“Feeding Our Future” case.
Acting U. S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson stated that Sayhad administered a site for the program under the name“Advanced Youth Athletic Development.
” Sayhad founded that company on February 26, 2021, and registered its headquarters at an apartment in the“Central Avenue Lofts,” a residential building in northeast Minneapolis. Omar herself, in her official capacity as a member of Congress, had promoted the very program that was defrauded. Now her former aide had admitted guilt. Her office had exchanged emails with the convicted ringleader.
She had refused to hand over records. Critics were asking the obvious question: How much did she know? Meanwhile, the political pressure was mounting. White House drug policy director recently declared that Omar’s days in Congress were numbered, accusing her of prioritizing undocumented immigrants over Americans.
As the segment wrapped, the host turned directly to the camera: “Omar, you still put illegal immigrants before Americans. Your days in Congress are numbered. How can you keep doing this to the American people? ”
But the fraud stories didn’t stop with Eidleh.
or even with Omar. Minnesota’s scandal machine kept churning. A local news investigation uncovered yet another layer—millions in taxpayer dollars paid to companies linked to four people now charged with tax evasion. Some of those companies were tied tothe“Feeding Our Future” scandal.
According to the criminal complaints, Minnesota’s Best Child Care Center and Rowa Kitchens (I and II)—businesses operating in the state—had pocketed millions in state taxpayer money for years after Amy Bock was indicted. Court documents revealed a state-funded contract between 2020 and 2024 granted to Rowa Kitchens to prepare meals for children at Minnesota’s Best. The childcare center received funds through a state-run childcare assistance program,and the complaint alleged the kitchen also got money through a separate state-run program that partially covered meals at childcare centers—the same program“Feeding Our Future” had exploited. Both the childcare center and the kitchen were run by people now charged with tax evasion.
And the criminal complaint alleged that Amy Bock herself had facilitated the state-funded meal contract between 2019 and 2021. So even fleeing to Somalia wasn’t enough to escape justice when you stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the American people. And there was another figure connected to the scheme who was believed to be hiding in Somalia or Kenya. Would the FBI catch him too?
Only time would tell. In the meantime, Ilhan Omar faced growing criticism over her office’s ties to these individuals. Many in the Trump administration were calling for her removal.
Her days in Congress, some said, were numbered.
