The FBI has captured six people from its Most Wanted Fraudsters list in three months, with Director Kash Patel saying the suspects had spent more than 4,000 days collectively on the run before their arrests. The suspects were apprehended overseas or surrendered in the United States in cases involving alleged fraud against federal healthcare programs, pandemic relief funding and food assistance. The FBI has linked the six cases to more than $2 billion in alleged fraud.
Patel announced the sixth capture on September 14, after Emylee Thai was arrested in Vietnam. The arrests followed the launch of the FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters list in June, an initiative developed with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to help locate people accused of defrauding American taxpayers. According to the Department of Justice, Bedi operated Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma, Washington, which was authorized to accept SNAP benefits.
Prosecutors allege that between March 2024 and June 2025, Bedi allowed customers to use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to obtain cash rather than food. He allegedly kept approximately half the value of the benefits for himself. The alleged scheme defrauded the U.S. government of at least $600,000, according to federal authorities.
Bedi was then indicted on wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud charges and pleaded not guilty on April 22, 2026. After his indictment, Bedi was allowed to remain out of custody under conditions that included surrendering his passport and remaining in Washington state. However, prosecutors say he fled to Canada and then India within days of entering his not-guilty plea.
A federal arrest warrant was issued on May 21, 2026, after he was accused of violating the conditions imposed on him. The FBI added Bedi to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list on September 3, and Indian law enforcement then took him into custody, and he was returned to the United States in October. Elaine Angene Escoe was returned to the United States from Jamaica in July to face charges over an alleged scheme to obtain more than $32 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding.
According to the Department of Justice, Escoe and her alleged co-conspirators sought money through several pandemic assistance programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Prosecutors allege that the group submitted applications containing false information about businesses, payroll, revenue and operations. The alleged scheme also involved fabricated tax documents, false bank records and other financial documentation intended to support the applications.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
