Kenyan and Guyanese nationals accused of diverting USAID-funded commodities for profit
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — A long-running federal investigation has led to charges against two foreign nationals accused of conspiring to divert U.S.-funded global health commodities from a Kenyan government agency, prosecutors announced Monday.
Eric Ndungu Mwangi, 40, a Kenyan national, and Davendra Rampersaud, 42, a Guyanese national, were charged in a 2021 superseding indictment returned by a grand jury in the District of South Carolina. The indictment, unsealed Monday, accuses the men and their businesses of illegally stealing and reselling HIV test kits and other commodities financed through the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The probe, led by USAID’s Office of Inspector General, focused on the $650 million KEMSA Medical Commodities Program. The program was designed to create a reliable supply chain for HIV/AIDS commodities in Kenya, as well as distribute family planning, nutrition and malaria products.
Prosecutors said that beginning in 2014, Mwangi and his company, Linear Diagnostics, stole test kits and other commodities intended for the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority. Rampersaud and his company, Caribbean Medical Supplies Inc., then bought the stolen goods.
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In 2015, authorities said, Rampersaud fraudulently obtained a “Letter of Authority” to act as an authorized distributor. That allowed him to secure a sole-source contract with the Guyana Ministry of Health, where he sold the stolen commodities for profit.
Between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud paid Mwangi more than $177,000 for supplies that included USAID-funded HIV test kits meant for Kenya. Prosecutors said Rampersaud later resold the goods to the Guyanese government, and also profited from test kits stolen from another USAID program.
“This was an incredibly complicated investigation, spanning years and an ocean,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina said in a statement. “These defendants jeopardized a vital public health mission and caused a significant loss to the American taxpayers.”
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Kenyan authorities arrested Mwangi in February 2021 on charges of theft and fraud. He is awaiting trial in Kenya. In the U.S., he faces up to 20 years in prison on various counts, fines and supervised release.
Rampersaud was arrested in January 2023 during a layover in Miami while traveling back to Guyana. He was extradited to South Carolina and pleaded guilty to conspiracy and theft of USAID-funded commodities. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced him to time served, three years of supervised release and an $84,000 fine.
The investigation involved USAID’s Office of Inspector General, the Justice Department, the State Department’s Regional Security Offices in Nairobi and Georgetown, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Kittrell and Dean Secor prosecuted the case.
Prosecutors emphasized that the charges in the indictment are accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.