“A reward of up to USD 150,000 is offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction,” the FBI said. File.
| Photo Credit: AP
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has added India-born Manjit Singh Bedi to its list of most wanted fraudsters for his alleged involvement in irregularities in the U.S. government’s benefits scheme.
According to the FBI, Bedi operated a small grocery store in Tacoma, Washington, and swiped customers’ government benefits cards to give them cash instead of food under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP).
Instead of selling food to participants, Bedi allegedly swiped their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards and gave them cash, keeping half of the proceeds for himself, the FBI said on Thursday (September 4, 2026). The FBI claimed that Bedi, a naturalised U.S. citizen, defrauded the U.S. government of at least $6 lakh between March 2024 and June 2025.
Bedi operated a small grocery store in Tacoma called Asian Grocery Store. He purportedly sold food to SNAP participants using their EBT cards.
“A reward of up to $150,000 is offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction,” the FBI said.
After being indicted for wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud, Bedi was allowed to appear in court without being arrested.
He was ordered to surrender his passport and remain in Washington state.
However, Bedi soon drove across the border to Canada and then fled to India, the FBI said.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Bedi on May 21 in a U.S. district court after he was charged with violations of conditions of supervision.
Published – September 04, 2026 12:03 pm IST
