Ilhan Omar's own staffer is sitting in federal prison for stealing money meant to feed children.
The man whose email was titled "Ilhan's Office" just got dragged back from Mogadishu in handcuffs.
And Omar still won't release a single document.
The Man Who Ran From Justice – and Couldn't Hide Forever
Abdikerm Eidleh spent four years running.
Federal prosecutors describe him as the second-in-command of the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme – the largest pandemic-era fraud case in American history, which looted $250 million from a child nutrition program.
He was indicted in September 2022 on 31 counts including wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering.
Rather than face justice, he fled to Somalia before investigators even served their first search warrants.
The FBI hunted him anyway.
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On June 25, 2026, Somali intelligence agents and FBI partners tracked him down in Mogadishu and took him into custody.
"If you commit fraud against the American taxpayer and try hiding across the globe, the long arm of justice will find you," said U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen.
Prosecutors say Eidleh personally pocketed $5 million in bribes and kickbacks, funneled through shell companies he created to launder the proceeds.
He recruited fraudulent meal sites, solicited bribes from operators, and invented phantom meals that children never received – all while billing American taxpayers for every bite.
The Email That Won't Go Away
Minnesota State Representative Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee, has been asking one question for months.
What was in those emails?
Trial exhibits from the federal prosecution of Feeding Our Future ringleader Aimee Bock – sentenced to more than 41 years in prison in May – include a February 18, 2021 email from Bock to Abdikerm Eidleh with a single subject line: "Ilhan's Office."
A separate email chain that same month, copied to a staffer in Omar's congressional office, was titled "Re: Help with USDA Food Programs."
The contents of those exhibits remain under a court protective order restricting release by parties in the case.
https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2072105904871518302?s=20
Omar is not a party in the case.
Her office is not bound by the order.
"I'm not bound by the court order. Omar is not bound by the court order," Robbins told The Center Square. "So, we should continue to pressure her to voluntarily turn them over."
Omar has ignored every request.
She missed a May 5 deadline to provide the documents.
She skipped multiple invitations to testify before the committee.
When Fox News reporters confronted her on camera and asked if she would cooperate with a congressional subpoena, she said nothing and walked away.
"She didn't even respond. Ghosted us," Robbins said.
Democrats Blocked the Subpoena
Robbins pushed for a formal subpoena to compel Omar's records.
The committee voted – five Republicans in favor, three Democrats opposed.
One vote short.
Democrats on the committee killed the only tool available to force transparency, then accused Republicans of pursuing a political agenda.
"This committee is called the Fraud Prevention and Government Oversight Committee, not the make the case and picture what you think the Democratic Party is," said Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis.
Robbins didn't flinch.
"We have been absolutely ignored by a sitting member of Congress," she said. "The public is demanding answers."
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Robbins has now escalated to the federal level, writing to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Ted Cruz, asking them to subpoena the same records Minnesota Democrats refused to demand.
Omar's Fingerprints Are Everywhere
Omar's connection to this scandal runs deeper than a subject line.
She introduced the MEALS Act in March 2020 – legislation that removed federal oversight safeguards from the child nutrition program and created the legal conditions that allowed Feeding Our Future to operate.
"She took all the guardrails off the federal nutrition program," Robbins said. "She's at the epicenter of this."
Omar held her 2018 congressional victory party at Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis.
Safari Restaurant is a venue whose owners were convicted of stealing more than $16 million in phantom meal claims from the same federal nutrition program.
One co-owner spent $2 million on a Minneapolis mansion and $9,000 a month at Nordstrom – on money meant to feed children.
Omar spent nearly $10,000 in campaign funds at that same restaurant between 2018 and 2020.
Her former campaign staffer, Guhaad Hashi Said – described as the "enforcer" of her voter turnout operation in the Somali community – pleaded guilty to running a fraudulent food site, falsely claiming to serve 5,000 meals a day while pocketing millions.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2070681804617416860?s=20
Omar's campaign also received donations directly from multiple Feeding Our Future defendants.
She returned the money only after the indictments began rolling in.
Her Defense Doesn't Hold Up
"Any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false," Omar said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
She has argued the MEALS Act passed with bipartisan support and was signed by President Trump – both true – and that Trump's USDA Secretary set the regulatory framework during rollout.
Robbins has a simple answer: Omar only sent a letter to the USDA demanding accountability after the fraud was already exposed.
The question was never whether Omar knew before it started.
The question is what was in those emails.
"Omar says she's had nothing to do with it," Robbins said. "Well, then she should release them to clear her name. If there's nothing there, put them out."
The Net Is Closing
With Eidleh now in U.S. custody and facing trial, those sealed exhibits become central evidence again.
He's sitting in federal custody facing a trial where every communication tied to Feeding Our Future will be scrutinized.
"We have not seen any accountability for the politicians, and Minnesotans are fed up with that," Robbins said.
The people who stole the money are in prison or on their way there.
The person who wrote the law that made it possible still hasn't answered a single question.
Sources:
- Elyse Apel, "EXCLUSIVE: GOP lawmaker wants Omar records after fraud arrest," The Center Square, July 3, 2026.
- "Man Taken into Custody in Somalia for Role in Feeding Our Future Fraud Scheme," U.S. Department of Justice, June 26, 2026.
- Michael Sinkewicz, "Feeding Our Future fraud suspect captured in Somalia after 4-year hunt," Fox News, June 26, 2026.
- "Ilhan Omar faces rising scrutiny after Feeding Our Future ringleader sentenced," Fox News, May 24, 2026.
- "Ilhan Omar withholding records of her messages with Feeding Our Future mastermind, Minnesota fraud committee says," Washington Examiner, May 7, 2026.
- "Split vote blocks House fraud panel's attempt to subpoena U.S. Rep. Omar," Minnesota House Session Daily, May 5, 2026.