In a significant development, U.S. authorities have concluded a years-long investigation, unsealing an indictment in the District of South Carolina against two foreign nationals for conspiring to illegally divert U.S.-funded global health commodities. The defendants, Eric Ndungu Mwangi, a 40-year-old Kenyan national, and Davendra Rampersaud, a 42-year-old Guyanese national, along with their associated businesses, were charged in a 2021 superseding indictment by a federal grand jury. The indictment was initially sealed to safeguard the ongoing investigation, which was spearheaded by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The investigation centered on the KEMSA Medical Commodities Programme (MCP), a USAID-funded initiative with a budget of approximately $650 million. The KEMSA MCP aimed to establish a secure and sustainable supply chain management system for HIV/AIDS commodities in Kenya, while also supporting the warehousing and distribution of family planning, nutrition, and malaria supplies. However, beginning in 2014, Mwangi and his company, Linear Diagnostics (LD), systematically stole HIV test kits and other commodities intended for KEMSA. These stolen goods were then sold to Rampersaud and his Guyanese company, Caribbean Medical Supplies, Inc. (CMS).
In 2015, Rampersaud fraudulently obtained a ‘Letter of Authority,’ enabling him to secure a lucrative, sole-source contract with the Guyana Ministry of Health for the illegally acquired products. Between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud allegedly paid Mwangi over $177,000 for the diverted medical supplies, including the stolen, USAID-funded HIV test kits meant for Kenya. Rampersaud further profited by selling these stolen health commodities to the Guyanese government. Additionally, he and his company acquired and sold test kits stolen from another separate USAID programme.
U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina described the investigation as ‘incredibly complicated, spanning years and an ocean,’ emphasizing that the defendants ‘jeopardised a vital public health mission and caused a significant loss to the American taxpayers.’
In February 2021, Kenyan authorities arrested Mwangi on charges related to theft and fraud. He is currently awaiting trial in Kenya and faces up to 20 years in prison, fines, and supervised release on the American charges. Rampersaud was arrested in January 2023 during a flight layover in Miami, en route to Guyana. He was transported to Charleston, South Carolina, where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and stealing or converting health commodities funded by USAID. United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Rampersaud, crediting him for time served, and imposed a three-year supervised release term and an $84,000 fine.