Trump administration intensifies crackdown on USAID overseas fraud schemes
The USAID Office of Inspector General has debarred nonprofits in Pakistan and Mali after uncovering kickback and payroll fraud that siphoned nearly $100,000 from a U.S.-funded power project.
USAID’s Office of Inspector General reported that two individuals—Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, a British citizen, and Atif Hussain Gillani of Pakistan—established two firms that secured purchase orders for forklift and crane services on a USAID-funded power grid project, then pocketed the profits after arranging local subcontractors to work for far less. The scheme diverted close to $100,000, with Sutton receiving at least $21,000.
Both men pleaded guilty in 2025, were sentenced to time served, placed on supervised release for one day, and barred from federal contracts for three years. Separately, the OIG found that the Mali-based NGO Association Subaahi Gumo falsified employee contracts and signatures, committing payroll fraud within a USAID conflict-prevention program. USAID/Mali terminated the award and debarred the organization and its senior staff for three years. A senior official said the administration is aggressively hunting fraudsters who misuse American taxpayer money overseas.
Why it matters
It shows how U.S. aid can be misused abroad and the government's effort to protect taxpayer funds.
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