USAID watchdog exposes aid diversion and exploitation schemes

Investigations by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Inspector General have uncovered two separate schemes involving the diversion of American foreign aid.

In Colombia, the nonprofit FUVADIS has been debarred following allegations that its founder, Luis Meneses, engaged in sexual exploitation and fraud. Meneses is accused of offering sexual quid-pro-quos to program participants in exchange for benefits and diverting free, donor-provided HIV medications to sell for personal profit. As a result, Luis Meneses, his brother Leonardo, and the organization FUVADIS have received five-year debarments, prohibiting them from receiving federal contracts or participating in government programs.

In a separate case, a Guyanese national, Davendra Rampersaud, and his company, Caribbean Medical Supplies, Inc., were debarred for diverting U.S.-funded medical supplies in Kenya. An investigation found that between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud illegally sold stolen medical supplies sourced from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).