An airman at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is accused of defrauding the Department of Defense of millions of dollars, in an allegedly years-long scheme.
This past week the Department of Justice announced that Staff Sgt. Richard Ramroop, a pharmacy technician assigned to Davis-Mothan Air Force Base in Arizona, and his spouse were indicted on 12 counts including theft of government property and wire fraud. Ramroop and his spouse, Manuel Madrid, are accused of stealing and reselling Department of Defense medical equipment and supplies to purchase luxury items.
According to the complaint against them, the scheme at least started in January 2022. Ramroop and his spouse Manuel Madrid allegedly conspired to “knowingly and willfully embezzle, steal, purloin and convert” government property. While working at the pharmacy, Ramroop was in charge of ordering medical devices and prescription items, which are paid for by the Department of Defense. He is accused of ordering several devices for the base, which he would then steal and sell. From 2022 through the end of 2025, the pair’s bank accounts saw millions of dollars deposited into them, from companies that resell medical devices. Surveillance footage shows Ramroop loading medical equipment into his car to remove from the base. According to the indictment, the lost medical devices cost the Department of Defense more than $3 million. Ramroop and Madrid are accused of bringing in more than $11 million through the sale of military medical equipment.
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“The defendants allegedly stole millions in taxpayer dollars from the U.S. Department of War to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, diverting critical resources away from their intended purpose,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine said in a statement, using the administration’s nickname for the Department of Defense. “Every dollar taken through fraud is a dollar denied to the mission it was meant to support.
Prosecutors allege that they put the money from these deals in their personal bank accounts, the same accounts used for their personal spending. The pair are accused of using that money to buy a million-dollar home in Tuscon, as well as two luxury cars: a 2024 Porsche Cayenne Sport Utility Vehicle and a BMW i7 Sport Utility Vehicle. The real estate and cars were seized by authorities when the two were arrested last month. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation led the investigation into the pair.
Task & Purpose reached out to Ramroop’s lawyer listed in the court filings, but has not yet heard back.
If convicted, Ramroop and Madrid face up to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit theft of government property, up to 10 years for money laundering and up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
