A former employee of a USAID subcontractor who stole and resold government equipment was debarred, following a joint investigation by the USAID Office of Inspector General and U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). Accordingly, the former employee is currently prohibited from participating in Federal procurement and non-procurement programs.
OIG initiated the investigation following an August 2023 referral from the USCP when they recovered approximately 20 mobile phones with “USAID” barcodes from a Virginia-based business. OIG found that from July 2022 to August 2023, hundreds of phones and computers had been removed from a USAID-contracted destruction process and resold for personal gain. These actions also caused the subcontractor to issue false certifications of destruction to the U.S. government.
In February 2025, Nikhil Parekh, the former employee, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit an offense against the United States. (See the Department of Justice press release for more details.) In May 2025, he was sentenced to 12 months of probation, along with an additional fine and restitution.
In addition, OIG referred Parekh to the USAID Suspension and Debarment Official. On August 28, 2025, USAID issued a notice of debarment to Parekh for 3 years based on the conviction, to serve the public interest, and for the protection of the United States government.
USAID OIG’s investigations remain active and ongoing. For more on USAID OIG’s investigative results, please visit https://oig.usaid.gov/our-work/investigations.
OIG reminds personnel and implementers to continue to report allegations of misconduct OIG’s Hotline, consistent with their award requirements or other legal obligations.