Accused of Stealing $600,000 in Food Benefits, Tacoma Grocer Is Captured

A former Tacoma grocery-store owner accused of converting more than $600,000 in federal food benefits into cash reportedly has been captured in India, shortly after the FBI publicized his addition to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list.

Punjab Police announced Friday that officers in Jalandhar had arrested Manjit Singh Bedi, a 65-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen accused of operating a large SNAP-benefits fraud scheme through Asian Grocery Store in Tacoma.

The FBI had offered a reward of as much as $150,000 for information leading to Bedi’s arrest and conviction. Its public wanted notice continued to list him as a fugitive Friday, and American authorities had not yet publicly confirmed his capture or explained what comes next.

According to a federal indictment, Asian Grocery Store received authorization to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in February 2024. SNAP, formerly called food stamps, helps qualifying low-income households purchase groceries using electronic benefit transfer cards.

Federal prosecutors allege that Bedi began exchanging those benefits for cash the following month.

Instead of selling customers eligible food, Bedi allegedly charged transactions against their EBT accounts and returned approximately half the amount in cash. Prosecutors offered the example of a customer whose card would be charged $200: The customer allegedly received $100 in cash while Bedi retained the remaining $100.

The indictment accuses him of pocketing at least $600,000 in federal benefits for food that was never sold between March 2024 and June 2025.

Bedi pleaded not guilty after being arraigned in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on April 22. Because he reportedly had no previous criminal history, he was allowed to remain out of custody while the case proceeded.

A judge ordered him to surrender his passport and remain in Washington state.

According to the FBI, Bedi instead drove across the Canadian border and continued to India. Federal authorities obtained another arrest warrant May 21 after charging him with violating the conditions of his supervision.

The FBI said it believed Bedi was living in India’s Punjab region. The agency had contacted Indian authorities and members of his family while attempting to persuade him to return to the United States.

That effort apparently ended with Friday’s arrest in Jalandhar.

Indian news organizations reported that Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav announced the capture as a breakthrough involving international crime and fugitives. Authorities have not yet disclosed whether the $150,000 reward played any role in locating him.

The next challenge will be returning Bedi to Washington to face the charges. An arrest in another country does not automatically place a defendant in American custody, and neither the FBI nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office had announced an extradition timetable Friday.

Bedi’s case is part of an investigation involving the FBI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.

He has been charged with wire fraud and SNAP-benefits fraud. Those charges remain allegations, and Bedi is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

One distinction is also important: The FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list is separate from its famous Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The newer fraud-focused list highlights defendants accused of substantial schemes involving government programs, businesses or individuals.

For Bedi, the time on that list may have been remarkably brief. The FBI prominently publicized his case Thursday; by Friday, police more than 7,000 miles from Tacoma said they had him in custody.

View the FBI wanted notice here.