Jalandhar l
In a significant development in a transnational financial fraud investigation, Jalandhar Commissionerate Police have arrested Manjit Singh Bedi, a 65-year-old Indian-born naturalised US citizen who had recently been placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list in connection with an alleged fraud of at least $600,000 involving the US government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The arrest was carried out after Punjab Police received intelligence inputs about Bedi’s presence in Jalandhar and formed a special team to track his movements. Police said he was intercepted in the Paragpur area of the city while travelling and taken into custody.
The case has an international dimension because Bedi is accused by US authorities of running a benefits-fraud scheme in Tacoma, Washington, before allegedly leaving the United States and reaching India through Canada in April 2026. The FBI had announced a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
According to US investigators, Bedi operated a grocery business, Asian Grocery Store, in Tacoma. The store was authorised to accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards used by beneficiaries of the federal SNAP food-assistance programme.
The allegations are that, instead of providing eligible food products, Bedi and others allegedly used customers’ EBT cards to process transactions for groceries that were never actually supplied. Beneficiaries were allegedly given cash representing only part of the value of their benefits, while Bedi allegedly retained the balance.
US prosecutors have alleged that the scheme operated from around March 2024 until June 2025 and caused losses of at least $600,000 to the US government. In one example cited in the US indictment, a beneficiary could provide $200 in SNAP benefits and allegedly receive $100 in cash, with the remaining $100 being retained by Bedi.
The allegations relate specifically to SNAP, a federally funded programme designed to provide food assistance to low-income households in the United States. Retailers authorised to participate in the programme are permitted to redeem EBT benefits only against eligible food purchases. Converting those benefits into cash outside the programme’s rules is prohibited.
The US case took a more serious turn after Bedi was indicted in April 2026 on allegations including wire fraud and SNAP benefits fraud. He was initially allowed to remain out of custody under conditions that included surrendering his passport and remaining within Washington state.
US authorities allege that he subsequently violated those conditions, travelled by road into Canada and then proceeded to India. A federal arrest warrant was issued on May 21, 2026, after he allegedly failed to comply with the conditions imposed on him.
His presence in Punjab eventually came to the attention of Jalandhar Police.
The arrest, however, did not result directly from an extradition warrant being executed by Indian authorities. According to the Jalandhar Police Commissioner, Bedi was arrested in connection with a separate case registered at Rama Mandi police station in Jalandhar on May 16, 2026. He has been booked under provisions relating to cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as the Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Act.
Punjab Police have now begun examining Bedi’s activities and movements in India while the circumstances surrounding the US allegations are also being assessed.
The arrest is particularly significant because it demonstrates how a local investigation can intersect with an international fugitive case. Bedi had allegedly managed to leave the US after the federal proceedings against him and travelled through Canada before reaching India. His subsequent identification and arrest in Jalandhar required local intelligence and surveillance.
Punjab Police have described the development as an important step in efforts to prevent Punjab from becoming a safe haven for people wanted in serious financial crimes abroad. The case also highlights the growing importance of cooperation between Indian law-enforcement agencies and foreign investigative authorities in cases involving suspects who cross international borders.
Bedi’s arrest does not, by itself, establish his guilt in the US fraud case. The allegations against him remain subject to legal proceedings in the United States, while the Indian case under which he has been arrested will proceed separately.
The next stage is likely to focus on the legal coordination between the two countries and the evidence available against Bedi. Any eventual extradition or transfer to the United States would have to follow the applicable Indian legal process.
For Jalandhar Police, the operation represents a notable breakthrough. For US authorities, the arrest could bring closer the prospect of securing the presence of a suspect who they allege defrauded a federal food-assistance programme of hundreds of thousands of dollars and then crossed international borders to evade the legal process.
