Nigerian Logistic Company Zenith Carex Int'l LTD Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Largest USAID Contractor Chemonics.

Zenith Carex files action against USAID's primary contractor, Chemonics, in D.C. federal court for damages of $15M+ and retraction of defamatory statements.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 21, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Nigerian Logistic Company Zenith Carex International Limited Files a Defamation Lawsuit Against Chemonics International, Inc., Primary USAID Contractor.

Zenith Carex International Limited, a leading logistics and courier services company based in Nigeria, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Chemonics International, Inc., a global development firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit is filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and seeks damages in excess of $15,000,000.00 and a retraction of defamatory statements made by Chemonics.

The Complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No: 1:25-cv-00578-LLA, names Chemonics as the sole Defendant. Chemonics is one of the top two largest recipients of funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has awarded them over $17 billion in USAID contracts from 2008 to 2024. The Complaint alleges that Chemonics published false and defamatory statements accusing Zenith Carex of fraud and inflated logistics invoicing for USAID funded humanitarian aid supplies, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and other critical medicines and supplies delivery and pickup services in Nigeria. These statements were malicious in intent and knowingly false when made by Chemonics to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in a failed effort to avoid civil liability for their own criminal behavior in defrauding USAID, which resulted in a settlement agreement and a $3.1 Million civil penalty against Chemonics for its violations of the False Claims Act and fraud as it relates to Chemonics’s humanitarian services contract with USAID. The Complaint details how Chemonics’s defamatory statements were unfortunately repeated and disseminated through a press release issued by the DOJ, who were misled by Chemonics’ false and malicious exculpatory efforts.

The allegations demonstrate that Chemonics, adhering to the racist trope of pervasive Nigerian fraud, apparently presumed a Nigerian company would be incapable of defending itself from being the scapegoat for their wrongdoing. Chemonics doubled down on their defamation of Zenith Carex in subsequent knowingly false and malicious statements in interviews relating to the DOJ settlement. The Complaint alleges that Chemonics’s malicious and knowingly false prejudice-infused public relations campaign against Zenith Carex was in an attempt to avoid responsibility for their admittedly unlawful behavior in defrauding USAID. Chemonics’ campaign of bigoted falsehoods has stigmatized Zenith Carex as an honest and successful Nigerian company using sadly familiar race-based cliches that have caused significant reputational and financial harm to Zenith Carex on a worldwide basis as well as perpetuated negative stereotypes. The Complaint alleges that through continued bigoted and knowingly false and malicious statements, Chemonics intended to shirk their responsibility and further amplified the extreme harm to Zenith Carex’s reputation in numerous online publications that went viral.

Zenith Carex asserts that Chemonics’s defamatory statements were made with malice and reckless disregard for the truth. The company has consistently provided exemplary logistics services for international aid programs, including those funded by USAID and the Global Fund. Despite a comprehensive investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria, which found no evidence of fraud, and an arbitration initiated by Chemonics in the United States, which Chemonics settled for lack of evidence, Chemonics continued to propagate false allegations against Zenith Carex in an attempt to escape the negative publicity cause by its admitted unlawful actions against USAID.

“We are deeply disappointed by the actions of Chemonics and the subsequent damage to our reputation,” said a spokesperson for Zenith Carex. “Our company has always operated with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. We are committed to seeking justice and restoring our good name.”

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a public retraction and apology from Chemonics and an injunction preventing Chemonics’s continued defamatory conduct. Zenith Carex remains dedicated to its mission of providing reliable and efficient logistics services to support humanitarian aid efforts across Nigeria, West Africa and beyond.

Contact:
W. Bruce Del Valle, Esq.
Del Valle Law, PLLC
300 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20001
202-465-8723
[brucedelvalle@gmail.com]

Mark Olumuyiwa Sobo
MS Law Group, LLC
9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 100
Largo, MD 20774
240-751-5651
[mark.sobo@muslawyers.com]

Counsel for Zenith Carex International Limited.

William B. Del Valle
DelValle Law PLLC
+1 386-852-1969
brucedelvalle@gmail.com