An FBI Most Wanted suspect accused of turning federal food benefits into a personal cash machine has been captured in India after allegedly defrauding American taxpayers of at least $600,000. Punjab Police arrested Manjit Singh Bedi, a 65-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, in the city of Jalandhar on Friday, September 4th. Bedi had allegedly fled the United States through Canada after being ordered to surrender his passport and remain in Washington state. U.S. authorities are now working to bring him back to face the federal charges.
Bedi owned and operated the Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma, Washington, which received authorization to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in February 2024. Federal investigators allege that Bedi began running a cash-for-benefits scheme the following month and continued it through June 2025. He was indicted in the Western District of Washington on multiple counts of wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud in April 2026. Bedi pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in federal court on April 22nd.
According to prosecutors, Bedi reached agreements with SNAP recipients who provided him with their EBT cards and personal identification numbers. Bedi allegedly charged purchases against the cards without providing the groceries represented in the transactions. He instead gave the recipients a portion of the benefits in cash and kept approximately half of the redeemed amount. A card containing $200 in benefits, for example, could be exchanged for $100 in cash while Bedi allegedly retained the remaining $100.
As Trending Politics News reported, each transaction triggered an interstate wire signal authorizing the SNAP program to send an electronic payment to the Asian Grocery Store’s bank account. The indictment alleged that Bedi devised a scheme to defraud the Department of Agriculture through “materially false and fraudulent pretenses” and concealed important facts about the transactions. Prosecutors said the store received federal payments for food items that were never actually sold. Investigators calculated the resulting loss to the government at more than $600,000.
Bedi was initially permitted to appear in federal court without being arrested, but he was ordered to surrender his passport and remain inside Washington state. The FBI said he instead drove across the border into Canada and continued to India. A federal arrest warrant was issued in Tacoma on May 21st after Bedi was charged with violating his conditions of supervision. The bureau later offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Punjab Police located Bedi in Jalandhar and arrested him less than a day after the FBI publicly announced the reward. His arrest in India also involved a separate local case brought under the Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Act and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with cheating and criminal breach of trust. Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav confirmed that officers had apprehended the fugitive.
See footage of Bedi in police custody in India here:
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FBI Director Kash Patel celebrated the capture and said Bedi was the fifth person apprehended since the Most Wanted Fraudsters list was created three months earlier. “Five Most Wanted Fraudsters captured in just three months is a historic success for this initiative,” Patel said. “The days of taking advantage of American taxpayers without consequence are over.” Patel said the suspects captured through the initiative had been responsible for more than $2 billion in combined alleged fraud.
The FBI launched its Most Wanted Fraudsters list on June 4th with eight suspects accused of defrauding the American people. By September 3rd, the bureau had added 16 people to the initiative and captured four of them, making Bedi the fifth following his arrest in India. The specialized list is separate from the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is intended to generate public assistance in locating wanted fraud suspects. Federal authorities are working with their Indian counterparts to secure Bedi’s return to the United States.
Wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. “Every assistance dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that could be feeding hungry children,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said. “We are committed to rooting out such fraud so that federal dollars go to where they are most needed.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.