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By Taryn Pedler
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The FBI has captured six people from its Most Wanted Fraudsters list in three months, with Director Kash Patel saying the suspects had spent more than 4,000 days collectively on the run before their arrests.
The suspects were apprehended overseas or surrendered in the United States in cases involving alleged fraud against federal healthcare programs, pandemic relief funding and food assistance. The FBI has linked the six cases to more than $2 billion in alleged fraud.
Patel announced the sixth capture on September 14, after Emylee Thai was arrested in Vietnam. The arrests followed the launch of the FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters list in June, an initiative developed with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to help locate people accused of defrauding American taxpayers.
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“Six Most Wanted Fraudsters captured in just three months is a historic success for this initiative,” Patel said in a statement.
“When we started this program in June with President Trump, Vice President Vance, and the task force, we told fraudsters they would no longer have any sanctuary no matter where they try to hide.”
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Manjit Singh Bedi: Alleged $600,000 Food Assistance Fraud
Manjit Singh Bedi, 64, a former grocery store owner from Kent, Washington, was returned to the United States from India in October to face federal charges over an alleged scheme involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps.
According to the Department of Justice, Bedi operated Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma, Washington, which was authorized to accept SNAP benefits.
Prosecutors allege that between March 2024 and June 2025, Bedi allowed customers to use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to obtain cash rather than food. He allegedly kept approximately half the value of the benefits for himself.
The alleged scheme defrauded the U.S. government of at least $600,000, according to federal authorities.
Bedi was then indicted on wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud charges and pleaded not guilty on April 22, 2026.
After his indictment, Bedi was allowed to remain out of custody under conditions that included surrendering his passport and remaining in Washington state. However, prosecutors say he fled to Canada and then India within days of entering his not-guilty plea.
A federal arrest warrant was issued on May 21, 2026, after he was accused of violating the conditions imposed on him.
The FBI added Bedi to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list on September 3, and Indian law enforcement then took him into custody, and he was returned to the United States in October.
Elaine Angene Escoe: Alleged $32 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud
Elaine Angene Escoe was returned to the United States from Jamaica in July to face charges over an alleged scheme to obtain more than $32 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding.
According to the Department of Justice, Escoe and her alleged co-conspirators sought money through several pandemic assistance programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Prosecutors allege that the group submitted applications containing false information about businesses, payroll, revenue and operations.
The alleged scheme also involved fabricated tax documents, false bank records and other financial documentation intended to support the applications.
Some applications were reportedly submitted on behalf of businesses controlled by members of the group, while others were filed for third parties in exchange for a share of the funds.
Authorities allege that proceeds were later laundered among the conspirators.
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Escoe was indicted in 2025 on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, but after a federal arrest warrant was issued, she allegedly failed to appear in court and fled to Jamaica.
She was then captured in Jamaica in July 2026 while living under the name Harley Newman, according to the Department of Justice.
Escoe was later returned to the United States to face the charges.
Khalid Ahmed Satary: Alleged $547 Million Medicare Fraud
Khalid Ahmed Satary, 54, was arrested in the Middle East in July in connection with an alleged healthcare fraud scheme involving $547 million in Medicare billings.
According to the Department of Justice, Satary was indicted in 2019 in the Eastern District of Louisiana over his alleged role in a scheme involving diagnostic testing laboratories.
Prosecutors have claimed that between 2016 and 2019, Satary owned and operated several laboratories across the United States that billed Medicare for expensive genetic tests that were medically unnecessary.
The alleged scheme involved cancer genetic testing, with laboratories receiving reimbursements of between $10,000 and $20,000 per sample.
According to the indictment and court documents, Satary allegedly worked with patient recruiters, telemarketing call centers and telemedicine companies to generate test orders through deceptive marketing campaigns and illegal kickbacks and bribes.
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Satary had been on the run since 2022, according to Patel, and he was added to the FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters list on June 23 this year, before being arrested less than a month later.
The Department of Justice announced his arrest on July 21, saying he had been apprehended the previous day with assistance from international law enforcement partners in the Middle East.
Satary was returned to the United States to face the charges, and his case was one of the first major arrests following the launch of the FBI's new list.
Herbert Leon Kimble: Alleged $1.2 Billion Healthcare Fraud Scheme
Herbert Leon Kimble, also known as Herb Kimble, was arrested in the Philippines on June 8, just four days after the FBI launched its Most Wanted Fraudsters list.
Kimble was wanted in connection with an alleged $1.2 billion healthcare fraud scheme involving telemedicine and durable medical equipment.
According to the Department of Justice, Kimble was charged in 2019 over his alleged role in the scheme, but his case differs from those of the other fugitives as he has pleaded guilty to certain charges.
In August 2026, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and failure to appear, according to the Department of Justice.
Kimble had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit healthcare fraud, violating the anti-kickback statute and defrauding the United States. He was scheduled to be sentenced in 2024 but allegedly failed to appear in court on three occasions before fleeing to the Philippines.
Following his capture, Kimble was returned to the United States.
Under his plea agreement, Kimble and prosecutors agreed that his sentence should fall between 15 and 20 years in prison. He also agreed to pay nearly $200 million in restitution, including $9 million at sentencing.
Said Abdullahi Ereg: Alleged $4.2 Million Child Nutrition Fraud
Said Abdullahi Ereg surrendered to the FBI in Minnesota on June 10, after being added to the Most Wanted Fraudsters list less than a week earlier.
Ereg was indicted in June 2024 over his alleged role in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, which prosecutors say exploited a federal program intended to provide meals to children in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Department of Justice, Ereg owned and operated Evergreen Grocery and Deli, a Minneapolis business participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program under the sponsorship of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
Prosecutors allege that between April 2020 and April 2021, the business submitted false reimbursement claims for meals that were not served as reported.
The business received more than $4.2 million in federal funds, according to the allegations.
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Court documents state that the business sometimes claimed to have served more than 3,000 meals twice a day, seven days a week.
Ereg was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
After he was added to the FBI's list, Ereg communicated through his lawyer that he wanted to return to the United States, but he surrendered to FBI agents at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on June 10.
Patel described Ereg's surrender as the first arrest resulting from the new list.
“Today’s arrest is historic—the first-ever arrest of a subject on our Most Wanted Fraudsters List released last week with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,” Patel said in a June 10 statement.
Emylee Thai: Alleged $100 Million-Plus Healthcare Fraud
Emylee Thai was arrested in Vietnam in September after allegedly defrauding Medicare of more than $100 million.
The FBI announced her capture on September 14, marking the sixth arrest connected to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list in three months.
According to the FBI, Thai had been on the run since 2022 and was believed to have been hiding in Vietnam since at least 2023.
The allegations against Thai involve healthcare fraud and genetic testing—the FBI says she was responsible for more than $100 million in alleged Medicaid fraud, while federal authorities have also described the case in connection with Medicare billing.
Thai faces allegations relating to a scheme involving genetic testing and federal healthcare funds.
She was previously indicted and released under pretrial conditions, according to information about the case, while authorities allege that she later removed an electronic monitoring device and fled the country using a false identity.
The FBI said international law enforcement partners helped capture Thai in Vietnam during the weekend before Patel's September 14 announcement.
Her arrest completed the six captures highlighted by the bureau as part of its new initiative.
In a video released by the FBI, Patel said the six people had been captured across three continents and were collectively linked to more than $2 billion in alleged fraud and said the FBI hoped to double the number of captures by the end of the year.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang
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