WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the conclusion of a years-long international investigation into a scheme that illegally diverted U.S.-funded medical commodities, resulting in the conviction and sentencing of Guyanese national Davendra Rampersaud, 42.
Rampersaud and Kenyan national Eric Ndungu Mwangi, 40, were indicted in the District of South Carolina on charges of conspiring to steal and resell HIV test kits and other supplies from the U.S.-funded Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) Medical Commodities Program (MCP). The program, valued at approximately US$650 million, was designed to ensure a safe and reliable supply chain for HIV/AIDS, family planning, nutrition, and malaria commodities in Kenya.
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Investigators found that beginning in 2014, Mwangi and his company, Linear Diagnostics (LD), systematically diverted HIV test kits and other commodities intended for KEMSA. Rampersaud, through his Guyana-based company Caribbean Medical Supplies, Inc. (CMS), fraudulently secured authorization to act as a distributor in 2015. He then used that status to obtain a sole-source contract with Guyana’s Ministry of Health, allowing him to profit by reselling stolen U.S.-funded medical supplies.
Between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud paid Mwangi more than US$177,000 for diverted commodities, including HIV test kits. He later resold them to the Guyanese government, reaping additional profits. The investigation also linked Rampersaud to other diverted test kits stolen from separate USAID programs.
“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.”
Mwangi was arrested by Kenyan authorities in 2021 and remains in custody awaiting trial in Nairobi. If convicted on U.S. charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Rampersaud, meanwhile, was arrested in January 2023 during a layover in Miami while attempting to return to Guyana. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and theft of U.S.-funded health commodities.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Rampersaud to time served, three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay an US$84,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID OIG), with assistance from the Department of State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations.
