Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, now 42, was arrested Thursday in Mogadishu, Somalia, according to a press release issued yesterday (Friday) by the U.S. Dept. of Justice. As Defendant No. 2 (out of 80 or so) in the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, Eidleh played a central role in the case.
Despite serving more than four years as an international fugitive from justice, Eidleh is still being billed out of Burnsville, MN. A St. Paul Pioneer Press headline,
Burnsville man arrested in Somalia 4 years after fraud indictment
Given the nature of the case, Eidleh’s capture was national and international news. From Qatar-based Al Jazeera,
Somali intelligence helps US arrest alleged ringleader of Minnesota fraud
Al Jazeera reports,
Neither US nor Somali officials have disclosed how Eidleh was located. However, the Department of Justice said his arrest was the result of cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.
Even in his absence, Eidleh played a role in the two Feeding Our Future courtroom trials. Eidleh worked at the nonprofit Feeding, and many individual felony counts in the larger case related to bribes he received from other Feeding Our Future defendants. He operated his own food distribution sites and is accused of taking some $5 million combined in bribes and provider payments.
More than four years ago, I visited the site of Eidleh’s alleged shell companies, a small office building in Uptown Minneapolis,
Eihleh was also in Medicaid provider game through his Charm Home Care company.
Developing…