FBI’s USD 1.5 Lakh Bounty Fraudster Manjeet Singh Bedi Held in India

A US federal fugitive accused of defrauding the American government of at least USD 6 lakh through a SNAP benefits scheme has been arrested in India, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Manjeet Singh Bedi, a naturalised US citizen, was among the FBI’s most-wanted fraud suspects and carried a USD 1.5 lakh bounty for information leading to his arrest. Patel said the FBI was now working to secure Bedi’s return to the United States.

“Bedi was just arrested in India and was believed to have fled there sometime last year,” Patel said in a post on X.

According to the FBI, Bedi operated a small grocery store in Tacoma, Washington, where he allegedly misused customers’ government benefits cards under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP).

Investigators alleged that instead of providing food products to eligible SNAP beneficiaries, Bedi swiped their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and provided them with cash. He allegedly retained about half of the money as his share.

The FBI said Bedi defrauded the US government of at least USD 600,000 between March 2024 and June 2025. He faces charges including wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud. After his indictment, Bedi was initially permitted to appear in court without being taken into custody. He was ordered to surrender his passport and remain within Washington state while under supervision.

However, according to the FBI, Bedi subsequently drove into Canada and fled to India, violating the conditions imposed on him. A federal arrest warrant was issued on May 21 by a US district court after he was accused of violating the terms of his supervision.

Patel also said Bedi was the fifth most-wanted fraudster captured since the FBI created its new list three months ago. The bureau said those arrested so far were collectively responsible for more than USD 2 billion in alleged fraud and had remained at large for nearly 4,000 days.

The FBI is continuing efforts to bring Bedi back to the US to face the charges against him.