He was supposed to feed the prison system — not steal from it.
Farhad “Fred” Monem held the keys to the kitchen inside Oregon’s correctional facilities. But behind the scenes, he was stirring up something far more corrupt.
In this episode of Fugitive Files, we examine how Monem allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from food brokers in exchange for state contracts — all while inmates were served cheap, low-quality meals. The scheme funneled public funds into Monem’s own pockets… until it all came crashing down.
When the investigation closed in, Monem vanished — fleeing to his native Iran to avoid prosecution.
He faces charges of:
Bribery
Money laundering
Wire fraud
Interstate transportation of stolen property
To this day, Monem remains a wanted fugitive, with the FBI continuing its search.
This is Fugitive Files. Let’s get into it.
