- Fugitives
- Nov 6, 2026
FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudster CAUGHT At Airport Flying Back From Kenya After Billing 1.4M Kids’ Meals
- by Statewide Files,
- in Fugitives
On June 10, 2026, Said Ereg landed at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport on a flight from London, and FBI agents were waiting. Six days earlier, the FBI had named him on its brand new Most Wanted Fraudsters list with a reward of up to $150,000. The next day, his lawyer said he would come back from Kenya. Prosecutors say Ereg's grocery store, Evergreen Grocery and Deli in south Minneapolis, claimed to serve more than 3,000 meals twice a day, seven days a week, and was paid more than $4.2 million through Feeding Our Future. Fifteen days after he landed, the man prosecutors say took his kickbacks was arrested in Mogadishu, Somalia.
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, and IRS Criminal Investigation releases, June and July 2026 FBI Minneapolis press conference, June 10, 2026 Minnesota Star Tribune, June 10, 2026 and February 2024 KSTP 5 Eyewitness News, FOX 9, WCCO CBS News Minnesota, KARE 11, KTTC, ABC 6 News FOX 9, Abdikerm Eidleh arrest and extradition reports, June and July 2026
In this report
- How a south Minneapolis grocery store claimed about 1.4 million children's meals in one year
- Where prosecutors say the $4.2 million went, including more than $2.5 million to foreign textile and trading companies
- The FBI's new Most Wanted Fraudsters list, and the call from Ereg's lawyer the next day
- The Feeding Our Future employee who allegedly took more than $100,000 to sponsor the store, and his arrest in Somalia
- Why the judge gave Ereg's wife a lower sentence
Presumption of innocence
Said Ereg has not been convicted. Abdikerm Eidleh has pleaded not guilty. Both are presumed innocent. Najmo Ahmed pleaded guilty to money laundering and was sentenced to 14 months. Facts about the scheme come from federal indictments and statements by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota and the FBI.
