The arrest of an alleged food stamp fraud fugitive halfway across the world marks the latest development in an FBI crackdown on benefit program fraud. On Sept. 4, authorities in India arrested Manjit Singh Bedi, a 65-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen and former grocery store owner from Tacoma, Washington.
According to Fox News, Bedi had been on the run for nearly a year after allegedly orchestrating a massive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) trafficking scheme that defrauded American taxpayers of at least $600,000.
The arrest highlights the FBI’s ability to track down fugitives outside the United States. Bedi is the fifth high-value fugitive to be apprehended under the FBI’s newly established “Most Wanted Fraudsters” initiative, a program launched just three months earlier to target major cases involving federal benefit fraud.
He initially pleaded not guilty
According to federal indictments filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the alleged fraud took place between March 2024 and June 2025. Bedi operated a small retail shop called the Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma, which was authorized to accept federal SNAP benefits in early 2024.
Instead of using the benefits to sell eligible groceries to low-income customers, federal prosecutors allege that Bedi used the store’s point-of-sale terminal to run a “cash-back” trafficking operation.
The scheme was fairly simple. Bedi would swipe a SNAP recipient’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card for an inflated amount. For example, he could charge $200 to a customer’s government benefits account. Rather than giving the customer $200 worth of eligible groceries, Bedi would allegedly give them $100 in cash. He would then keep the other $100 for himself while collecting the full $200 reimbursement from federal funds.
Over roughly 15 months, the fake transactions allegedly allowed Bedi to collect more than half a million dollars for groceries that were never actually purchased.
W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office, pointed to the impact this type of fraud can have on vulnerable families. When store owners encourage people to exchange their benefits for cash, he said, those families can be left without the food assistance they need.
The USDA Office of Inspector General said a federal grand jury indicted Bedi on multiple counts of wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud. Because he had no prior criminal history, the court initially allowed Bedi to appear at his arraignment without being taken into custody. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to surrender his passport and remain in Washington.
Instead, Bedi allegedly fled the country.
The FBI placed Bedi on its “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list on Sept. 3 and offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his capture. Working with Indian law enforcement, a cyber and intelligence task force tracked Bedi down and arrested him less than 48 hours after he was added to the list.
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Federal authorities are now working with international officials to extradite Bedi to Tacoma, Washington, where he could face decades in prison if convicted.
