FBI’s First “Most Wanted Fraudster” Arrested After Stealing $4 Million Meant for Hungry Kids

The FBI just launched its brand-new “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list, and before the public could even finish processing the rollout, the very first name on that list was already turning himself in.

Said Abdullahi Ereg, 47, did not wait long. He was taken into custody the moment his plane touched down at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, returning from Kenya, and just like that, the FBI’s flashy new list had its first trophy.

Ereg, a former south Minneapolis grocery and deli owner, now faces charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. And the alleged details? Genuinely wild.

So What Exactly Did He Do?

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government rolled out the Child Nutrition Program to make sure vulnerable kids could still get meals even while schools were shut down.

It was one of the most well-intentioned relief efforts of that entire era. But now, Prosecutors allege that Ereg, while operating Evergreen Grocery and Deli in south Minneapolis from 2020 to 2021, claimed he was providing meals to children using pandemic-era funding, but the claims were entirely fraudulent.

According to the Justice Department, Ereg said he served meals to children in need but allegedly used government funds to bankroll a lavish lifestyle. The man was allegedly out here living his best life on taxpayer money meant for hungry kids, and he did not see the problem with that.

Ereg is a defendant in the sprawling $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, which has implicated roughly 80 people total. He was indicted alongside his wife, Najmo Ahmed, back in January 2024 on charges of stealing more than $4. 2 million from taxpayers. The couple ran Evergreen Grocery together, and at some point after the indictment, they both fled the country.

His Wife Already Flipped, and His Number Was Up

Here is where the story gets even more interesting. Ereg’s wife, Najmo Ahmed, who worked at the business and received payroll payments directly from Feeding Our Future, already pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month, per Fox News. So the walls were closing in from every direction.

Federal officials confirmed that Ereg contacted authorities through his attorney and expressed a willingness to return to the United States just one day after the FBI launched the Most Wanted Fraudsters list.

The FBI added Said Abdullahi Ereg to the newly launched Most Wanted Fraudsters list just six days before his arrest, making him the first fraudster on that list to be taken into custody. FBI Director Kash Patel did not downplay the moment. “Today’s arrest is historic: the first ever arrest of a subject on our Most Wanted Fraudsters List released last week with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,” Patel said.

The list itself is part of a bigger federal push. The arrest comes as part of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, created to support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is led by Vice President J.D. Vance.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, were both present in Ohio last week when the fraudster list was formally announced.

Nobody Is Running Fast Enough

Patel made it clear that this is only the beginning. “This historic result is only the beginning, and let it be a message to any fraudster who takes advantage of America: this team will find you,” he said in a post on X.

When you allegedly steal over $4 million from a program designed to feed children during one of the most devastating public health crises in modern history, and then flee the country hoping the whole thing blows over, eventually reality catches up. U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said Ereg betrayed the public’s trust and used taxpayer dollars for personal gain.

The Feeding Our Future scandal has been one of the largest pandemic fraud cases in U.S. history, with roughly $250 million in alleged stolen funds across dozens of defendants. Ereg is just the latest to face consequences, but given how quickly his arrest followed the list’s launch, something tells us he will not be the last.

The FBI said it plainly: they will find you. And based on everything that just unfolded at a Minneapolis airport, they meant every word of it.