Head of USAID-Linked Federal Agency Admits to Fraud, Taking Bribes
by David Hawkins
A senior official at a U.S. government agency has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges after prosecutors say he steered hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a favored contractor in exchange for personal payments.
Mathieu Zahui, a 59-year-old resident of Fairfax, Virginia, agreed to plead guilty to charges tied to his role at the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Zahui served as Director of Financial Management at the agency and referred to himself as its chief financial officer on USADF’s Facebook page.
USADF is an independent federal agency established in 1980 to promote economic development in Africa through grants to small businesses and community organizations.
While it operates alongside the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), it has separate funding and oversight.
Bribery and Kickbacks Scheme
According to court documents, between approximately 2021 and 2023, Zahui directed about $800,000 in USADF funds to a Kenya-based company owned by a longtime associate, identified in filings as CC-1.
Prosecutors said the company functioned largely as a pass-through entity, performing little to no work while retaining markups ranging from 17 percent to 66 percent, totaling more than $134,000.