Tacoma Store Owner Who Fled to India Returned to Face SNAP Fraud Charges After FBI Most Wanted Listing
Acting United States Attorney Charles Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington announced that the owner of a small Tacoma market has been returned from India and will appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to face charges in an alleged food stamp fraud scheme. Manjit Bedi, 64, of Kent, Washington, pleaded not guilty on April 22, 2026, and within a week had fled the United States to his native India after being indicted for wire fraud in connection with the scheme.
On September 3, 2026, Bedi was added to the FBI's "Most Wanted Fraudster" list, with his image and case information disseminated internationally. Law enforcement in India quickly took Bedi into custody; he was turned over to federal agents and arrived in the Western District of Washington. Acting U.S. Attorney Floyd said prosecutors will ask the court to detain him pending trial, as he has demonstrated the will and the means to flee. FBI Director Kash Patel said Bedi is one of six Most Wanted Fraudsters captured since the creation of the list three months ago, and is charged with defrauding the United States of at least $600,000 in SNAP funds from approximately 2024 to 2025.
According to the indictment, Bedi owned and operated a small grocery store in Tacoma that was authorized in February 2024 to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Beginning in March 2024, Bedi allegedly agreed to provide SNAP recipients with cash in exchange for money loaded on their electronic benefits cards (EBT) at a rate of 50 cents on the dollar; for example, he would charge $200 against a recipient's card, provide $100 in cash, and keep $100 as profit. The indictment alleges that between March 2024 and June 2025, when the fraud was discovered, Bedi pocketed at least $600,000 in SNAP benefits for food items that were never sold. Both wire fraud and SNAP benefit fraud are punishable by up to twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges are only allegations, and Bedi is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG), the FBI, and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), with assistance from the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs. Assistant United States Attorney Victoria Cantore is prosecuting the case.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Tacoma 的联合车站大楼，现为美国华盛顿州西区联邦地区法院所在地（资料图）。Steve Morgan 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Union Station in Tacoma, now a courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (file photo). By Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
