Mathieu G. Zahui, Director of Financial Management for the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), has agreed to plead guilty to accepting gratuities from a contractor and making false statements to federal law enforcement officers. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Zahui, 59, from Fairfax, Virginia, faces up to two years in prison for accepting gratuities and up to five years for making a false statement. A federal district court judge will schedule his plea hearing and determine sentencing after reviewing relevant guidelines and statutory factors.
“President Trump has made it clear that he will put an end to the fraud, waste and abuse that was commonplace throughout these agencies,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “There will be serious consequences whenever corruption is unearthed, whether at the U.S. African Development Foundation or any other foundation.”
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division commented on the case: “Mathieu Zahui is charged with accepting payments from a government contractor and then abusing his position by directing USADF funds to that contractor for little-to-no work. Corruption by senior officials representing the United States cheats American taxpayers and rigs the system against honest work. This plea agreement demonstrates the Criminal Division’s pursuit of bad actors who engage in waste and abuse in government contracting.”
Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean M. Bottary of USAID’s Office of Inspector General stated: “The USADF Director of Financial Management’s fraudulent acts betrayed the trust of the American people. As the Inspector General with continued oversight jurisdiction over U.S.-funded foreign assistance, we will utilize our global investigative reach to aggressively detect and disrupt those who defraud taxpayer dollars programmed overseas.”
Court documents show that between June 2020 and December 2023, Zahui arranged for USADF vendors and contractors to be paid through a Kenya-based company known as Company-1, owned by a government contractor identified as CC-1 whom Zahui had known for over two decades. Instead of paying vendors directly, Zahui directed payments through Company-1, which submitted invoices with mark-ups ranging from 17% to 66%. In some cases, Company-1 performed no work justifying these additional charges.
One example involved a past-due debt owed by USADF to a staffing vendor; rather than pay directly, Zahui instructed the vendor to invoice Company-1 instead. Company-1 then invoiced USADF with an added mark-up exceeding $20,000—despite providing no related services—which Zahui approved.
Overall, more than 20 pass-through invoices resulted in at least $617,625 being paid by USADF to Company-1; approximately $134,886 was retained as mark-up by Company-1. In return for facilitating these arrangements as well as other official actions benefiting Company-1, Zahui accepted $12,000 in cash payments from CC-1.
Neither Zahui nor CC-1 disclosed their conduct to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service overseeing USADF payments. Additionally, false statements were made on invoices claiming logistical support was provided when none existed—for instance, regarding a $50,000 membership fee payment routed through Company-1 with an added mark-up.
When questioned by federal agents in 2024 about his relationship with CC-1, Zahui falsely denied receiving any benefits despite having accepted cash payments.
The investigation is being conducted by USAID-OIG. Prosecution is handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sungtae Kang for the District of Columbia and Assistant Chief Kyle Hankey from the Fraud Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division.