The scandal-ridden company behind the Trump administration’s $1 billion flagship self-deportation program risked being dissolved after failing to file the most basic of paperwork, a new investigation by the Daily Beast’s sister Substack PunchUp has found. Salus Worldwide Solutions, the firm behind Project Homecoming, missed the June 30 deadline to file its annual report with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The flub resulted in the group being listed as “Not in Good Standing” and “Pending Inactive,” meaning it was at risk of being terminated if it did not provide the document. The situation was rectified only after PunchUp notified Salus of its mistake. Salus faces mounting backlash in the wake of PunchUp’s reporting on corruption allegations against the firm, which now faces being forced to recompete the deal over how it won the contract in the first place, and has been bleeding its top staff over the past several weeks. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin earlier this month, drawing on PunchUp’s stories to demand Mullin “cancel” the deal and “take immediate action to stop this wasteful and corrupt spending.” Salus declined to comment on its error, but said: “We stand by our work, our employees, and the measurable results we have delivered.”
Tom Latchem exposes the secrets, scandals, and stories that powerful people and institutions want to keep under wraps. Follow all of his reporting at PunchUp on Substack.
