Greensboro, North Carolina—On August 11, 2025, Ruth Chisina Mufute, a Zimbabwean citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.
Mufute worked in South Africa as a project director for Company 1 on a USAID cooperative agreement under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). According to court documents, from June 2014 through May 2023, she unlawfully enriched herself and others by obtaining housing allowances from Company 1 under false and misleading pretenses, including by submitting fraudulent documents and electronic communications. Company 1 is a North Carolina-based nonprofit that regularly implemented projects funded by USAID.
Mufute provided Company 1 with a falsified lease agreement and a fictitious landlord for a property she falsely represented as vacant and available to rent. Then, on various dates, she submitted to Company 1 false and fraudulent electronic communications with her fictitious landlord to confirm that she had paid rent for, and renewed the lease on, the property.
Nyema Morais, Acting Special Agent in Charge at OIG, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge William L Osteen, Jr., accepted Mufute’s plea. “In partnership with the Department of Justice, the USAID Office of Inspector General will continue to hold accountable those who defraud or corrupt U.S. foreign assistance programs,” Morais said. “Anyone seeking illicit personal gain from taxpayer-funded projects abroad will face significant consequences.”
Mufute is scheduled to be sentenced on December 16, 2025, and faces up to 5 years in prison.