US fugitive and fraudster arrested in Punjab

Punjab Police have arrested Manjit Singh Bedi, who was allegedly wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a nearly $600,000 fraud case.  Bedi, fled the United States in April this year and reached India via Canada to evade legal proceedings. The FBI had announced a reward of up to $1,50,000 ( Rs1.4 crore) for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

SUBJECT ONE: MANJIT SINGH BEDI

Bedi is wanted for defrauding the U.S. of at least $600k in SNAP funds from approximately 2024 to 2025 – orchestrating a scheme out of a grocery store he operated, swiping EBT cards and keeping proceeds for himself.

Bedi has been on the run for… pic.twitter.com/a6VKRIPH5h

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 3, 2026

Punjab director general of police Gaurav Yadav said Bedi had been placed on the FBI’s wanted list in connection with an alleged fraud involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the US. The alleged fraud, committed between 2024 and 2025, amounted to around $600,000. Bedi was allegedly operating an Asian grocery store in Tacoma, Washington, where customers used government-issued electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to access SNAP benefits.
According to the police, instead of supplying food items against the benefits available on the cards, Bedi allegedly swiped the customers’ EBT cards, gave them around half of the benefit amount in cash and retained the remaining amount for himself. Police said the alleged scheme resulted in a loss of approximately $600,000 to the US government.Bedi had moved to the US in 2019, where both his sons are settled. After the alleged fraud came to light, US authorities served him a notice in April directing him to appear before the concerned court. Instead of facing the proceedings, he left the US and travelled to India.
On May 21, 2026, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Bedi in a US District Court. He was charged with Violations of Conditions of Supervision. Bedi had earlier been indicted on allegations of wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud. He was allowed to remain out of custody while appearing in court but was ordered to surrender his passport and remain within Washington state.