FBI Adds India-Born Manjit Singh Bedi to Most Wanted Fraudsters List
· World · The Hindu, NDTV, Indian Express
The FBI has placed India-born Manjit Singh Bedi, a naturalised US citizen, on its most wanted fraudsters list for allegedly defrauding the US government of at least $6 lakh between March 2024 and June 2025 through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP). Bedi ran a small grocery store called Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma, Washington, where he allegedly swiped customers' Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, gave them cash instead of food, and kept roughly half the proceeds for himself. After being indicted for wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud, Bedi was released on conditions including surrendering his passport and remaining in Washington state, but he drove into Canada and then fled to India. A federal arrest warrant was issued on May 21 after he was charged with violations of supervision conditions, and the FBI is now offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Why it matters
The case puts a spotlight on small-store SNAP fraud in Washington state and raises questions about how a defendant under US court supervision was able to flee across the Canadian border and back to India without being intercepted.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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