A long-term international investigation into the theft of American-funded health commodities concluded on Wednesday with the unsealing of an indictment in the District of South Carolina. The case charges Davendra Rampersaud, 42, a Guyanese national, and Eric Ndungu Mwangi, 40, a Kenyan national, with conspiring to divert U.S.-funded global health supplies from Kenya’s government-run Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
Rampersaud, along with his Guyana-based company Caribbean Medical Supplies, Inc. (CMS), is accused of buying stolen HIV test kits and other commodities originally funded by USAID for patients in Kenya, and reselling them at a profit to the Guyanese government. Mwangi, through his company Linear Diagnostics (LD), allegedly stole the test kits and other health commodities directly from KEMSA.
The investigation, led by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), focused on the approximately $650 million USAID-funded KEMSA Medical Commodities Program (MCP). The purpose of KEMSA MCP was to establish and operate a safe, secure, reliable, and sustainable supply chain for HIV/AIDS commodities, and to support the warehousing and distribution of select family planning, nutrition, and malaria supplies.
Beginning in 2014, Mwangi and LD systematically stole commodities intended for KEMSA. In 2015, Rampersaud fraudulently secured a “Letter of Authority” to operate as an authorized distributor. This allowed him to secure a lucrative, sole-source contract with the Guyana Ministry of Health for the products he was acquiring illegally.
Between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud paid Mwangi over $177,000 for the diverted medical supplies, including USAID-funded HIV test kits meant for Kenya. Rampersaud then profited again by selling these stolen commodities to the Guyanese government. Rampersaud and CMS also acquired and sold test kits stolen from another separate USAID program.
“This was an incredibly complicated investigation, spanning years and an ocean,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “These defendants jeopardized a vital public health mission and caused a significant loss to the American taxpayers.”
In February 2021, Kenyan authorities arrested Mwangi on charges relating to theft and fraud. He is currently awaiting trial in Kenya. On the American charges, Mwangi faces up to 20 years on various counts, fines, and a term of supervised release.
In January 2023, Rampersaud was arrested on charges arising out of the superseding indictment when he flew into Miami during a layover on his way back to Guyana. He was transported to Charleston, South Carolina, where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to stealing or converting USAID-funded health commodities. He was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel to time served, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay an $84,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for USAID. The Justice Department and USAID OIG acknowledged the assistance of the Office of International Affairs, the Department of State’s Regional Security Offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Georgetown, Guyana, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Kittrell and Dean Secor are prosecuting the case.
