A grocery store owner in Tacoma, Washington, now faces federal charges. He is accused of stealing $600,000 in food stamp money.

The suspect is **Manjit Singh Bedi**. He ran Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma. Customers paid with EBT cards. Those cards hold SNAP benefits, which help families buy food.

Investigators say the scheme ran from March 2024 to June 2025. Bedi allegedly swiped EBT cards and gave customers cash instead of food. He allegedly kept half the cash for himself. The other half went to the customer. Taxpayers paid the full amount every time.

A federal grand jury indicted Bedi for wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud. Prosecutors did not arrest him at first. They required him to hand over his passport. He also had to stay inside Washington state.

He ignored those orders.

Bedi drove north into Canada. He then flew to India. A federal judge issued a new arrest warrant on May 21, 2026. The new charge was violating the conditions of his court supervision.

The FBI had already placed Bedi on its Most Wanted Fraudsters list. He was the fifth person named to that list. Agents worked with Indian authorities to track him down. They arrested Bedi in India on Friday.

FBI Director Kash Patel called the arrest a message to everyone watching. "The days of taking advantage of American taxpayers without consequence are over," Patel said.

Bedi is a naturalized U.S. citizen. The FBI is now working to return him to the United States. He will face his charges in federal court in Tacoma.

The Trump administration has made food stamp fraud a top enforcement priority. In May, the USDA released a report. It found that 14,000 people in one state received SNAP benefits while driving luxury vehicles. In June, federal agents arrested several people in Massachusetts. Those suspects face charges in a $1.4 million food stamp fraud scheme.

SNAP feeds millions of Americans who cannot afford groceries on their own. Fraud takes that money away from families who truly need it. Fleeing the country did not protect Bedi from the consequences. If you spot SNAP fraud in your community, report it to the USDA. Their Office of Inspector General takes these tips.