An extended-term worldwide investigation into the theft of American-funded well being commodities concluded on Wednesday with the unsealing of an indictment within the District of South Carolina. The case expenses Davendra Rampersaud, 42, a Guyanese nationwide, and Eric Ndungu Mwangi, 40, a Kenyan nationwide, with conspiring to divert U.S.-funded international well being provides from Kenya’s government-run Kenya Medical Provides Authority (KEMSA).
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Rampersaud, alongside together with his Guyana-based firm Caribbean Medical Provides, Inc. (CMS), is accused of shopping for stolen HIV check kits and different commodities initially funded by USAID for sufferers in Kenya, and reselling them at a revenue to the Guyanese authorities. Mwangi, by way of his firm Linear Diagnostics (LD), allegedly stole the check kits and different well being commodities instantly from KEMSA.
The investigation, led by the Workplace of the Inspector Basic for the U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID), centered on the roughly $650 million USAID-funded KEMSA Medical Commodities Program (MCP). The aim of KEMSA MCP was to determine and function a protected, safe, dependable, and sustainable provide chain for HIV/AIDS commodities, and to help the warehousing and distribution of choose household planning, vitamin, and malaria provides.
Starting in 2014, Mwangi and LD systematically stole commodities supposed for KEMSA. In 2015, Rampersaud fraudulently secured a “Letter of Authority” to function as a licensed distributor. This allowed him to safe a profitable, sole-source contract with the Guyana Ministry of Well being for the merchandise he was buying illegally.
Between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud paid Mwangi over $177,000 for the diverted medical provides, together with USAID-funded HIV check kits meant for Kenya. Rampersaud then profited once more by promoting these stolen commodities to the Guyanese authorities. Rampersaud and CMS additionally acquired and bought check kits stolen from one other separate USAID program.
“This was an extremely difficult investigation, spanning years and an ocean,” stated U.S. Lawyer Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “These defendants jeopardized a significant public well being mission and brought on a major loss to the American taxpayers.”
In February 2021, Kenyan authorities arrested Mwangi on expenses regarding theft and fraud. He’s at the moment awaiting trial in Kenya. On the American expenses, Mwangi faces as much as 20 years on varied counts, fines, and a time period of supervised launch.
In January 2023, Rampersaud was arrested on expenses arising out of the superseding indictment when he flew into Miami throughout a layover on his means again to Guyana. He was transported to Charleston, South Carolina, the place he pleaded responsible to conspiracy and to stealing or changing USAID-funded well being commodities. He was sentenced by United States District Decide Richard M. Gergel to time served, three years of supervised launch, and ordered to pay an $84,000 high-quality.
The case was investigated by the Workplace of the Inspector Basic for USAID. The Justice Division and USAID OIG acknowledged the help of the Workplace of Worldwide Affairs, the Division of State’s Regional Safety Workplaces in Nairobi, Kenya, and Georgetown, Guyana, U.S. Customs and Border Safety, and Homeland Safety Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Kittrell and Dean Secor are prosecuting the case.
