Washington: A fugitive placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list has been taken into custody in India in connection with a multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar scam targeting US welfare food benefits, FBI Director Kash Patel announced.
US investigators are now moving to bring Manjit Singh Bedi back to America to face charges after he was detained by Indian authorities, with a $150,000 reward having been offered for information leading to his arrest.
Arrest In India, Extradition Push
“Bedi was just arrested in India and was believed to have fled there sometime last year. The FBI is actively working to secure his return to the United States,” Patel said in a post on X.
According to the FBI, Bedi, a naturalised US citizen, is charged with wire fraud and fraud involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal food‑assistance scheme formerly known as food stamps.
The bureau alleges that Bedi ran a small grocery outlet — identified in Indian reports as the Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma, Washington — where he turned food benefits into cash. Instead of selling groceries to SNAP participants, he is accused of swiping their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, handing over cash and retaining roughly half the amount as profit, as reported by India Today.
Flight From Court, Capture Overseas
US authorities say Bedi defrauded the government of at least $600,000 between approximately 2024 and 2025.
After being indicted on wire fraud and SNAP fraud charges, he was permitted to remain free pending trial but was ordered to surrender his passport and stay within Washington state. The FBI contends he later drove across the border into Canada and then escaped to India.
A federal arrest warrant was issued on May 21, 2026, by the US District Court for the Western District of Washington after he was charged with Violations of Conditions of Supervision.
Indian media reported that Jalandhar Commissionerate Police in Punjab detained Bedi earlier this week, acting on international alerts.
Patel said the arrest marks the fifth capture under the FBI’s refreshed Most Wanted Fraudsters list. “This is the 5th Most Wanted Fraudster captured since the creation of the new list three months ago – and yet another high-value target captured overseas. Subjects captured so far have been responsible for a combined over USD two billion in fraud and were on the run for almost 4,000 days collectively prior to arrest,” he wrote.
US officials are now coordinating with their Indian counterparts to arrange Bedi’s return so he can face the charges in an American court.
