Said Abdullahi Ereg is accused of taking more than $4.2 million from a child nutrition program.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Said Abdullahi Ereg, a Minneapolis grocery and deli owner charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud case, surrendered to the FBI at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday after being placed on a new federal fraud fugitive list.
Ereg, 47, was indicted June 24, 2024, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Federal prosecutors say he had been overseas and that his exact location was unknown after a warrant was issued. His surrender gives prosecutors another defendant in one of Minnesota’s largest pandemic fraud cases, a sprawling prosecution tied to federal money meant to feed children during the COVID-19 emergency.
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced the surrender during a Wednesday afternoon news conference in Minneapolis. Federal agents were waiting when Ereg arrived on a flight from overseas, officials said. Rosen said Ereg peacefully surrendered to law enforcement at the airport. The FBI had announced June 4 that Ereg was one of eight fugitives named to its new Most Wanted Fraudsters list. The next day, prosecutors said, Ereg contacted authorities through his attorney and said he wanted to return to the United States.
The FBI had offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to Ereg’s arrest and conviction. Federal officials said the public listing was part of a broader effort to find people charged in major fraud cases who had not been taken into custody. Christopher D. Dotson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office, said Ereg was the first person on the new list to be taken into custody. Dotson said the case showed the “collective commitment” of the FBI, Justice Department, IRS and U.S. Postal Inspection Service to bring alleged fraud defendants before a court.
According to court documents, Ereg owned and operated Evergreen Grocery and Deli, a for-profit business in south Minneapolis that took part in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors allege the business submitted false reimbursement claims from about April 2020 to April 2021 and received more than $4.2 million in federal child nutrition funds. At times, officials said, Evergreen Grocery and Deli claimed it served more than 3,000 meals twice a day, seven days a week.
Federal officials say the program was meant to reimburse organizations for meals served to children in need. In Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Education administered the program while sponsors such as Feeding Our Future handled paperwork and payments for meal sites. Prosecutors allege Ereg and others obtained, misused and laundered program money instead of using it for meals. The indictment says much of the money was used to support a lavish lifestyle for Ereg’s family and to move funds to foreign accounts controlled by overseas companies. The charges remain allegations, and Ereg is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Ereg’s wife, Najmo Ahmed, also worked at Evergreen Grocery and Deli and received payroll payments directly from Feeding Our Future, prosecutors said. Ahmed pleaded guilty Feb. 24, 2025, to one count of money laundering. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 15, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel. Prosecutors also have accused Ereg and Ahmed of using fraud proceeds for luxury purchases and of paying kickbacks to Abdikerm Eidleh, another Feeding Our Future defendant who remained at large as of Wednesday’s announcement.
The Feeding Our Future investigation began with charges in 2022 and has grown into a major federal case over pandemic-era nutrition reimbursements. Prosecutors have said the broader scheme involved hundreds of meal sites and more than $240 million in federal child nutrition funds. Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock was sentenced in May to 500 months in prison after being convicted for her lead role. Salim Said, a former co-owner of Safari Restaurant, was tried with Bock. Officials said Feeding Our Future grew from handling about $3.4 million in federal funds in 2019 to nearly $200 million in 2021.
The case against Ereg is being investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Kline, Matthew Murphy and Austin Bowyer are prosecuting it. Homeland Security Investigations also assisted with the surrender, officials said. Michael McCarthy, special agent in charge of HSI Minneapolis/St. Paul, said the arrest showed that being outside the United States does not put a defendant beyond the reach of federal investigators and their partners.
Ereg’s return adds a new court track to a case that already has produced guilty pleas, convictions and long prison terms. Prosecutors said his first court appearance was expected Thursday morning in federal court. The next scheduled milestone in the case is Ahmed’s June 15 sentencing before Judge Brasel.
Author note: Last updated June 11, 2026.