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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"55290c4e-a4a1-4b9c-b3ad-cd7be08518ef","kind":"publish","page_slug":"powerus","published_at":"2026-11-06T00:25:59.055Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Powerus","sections":[{"content":"Powerus went public via a reverse merger into Aureus Greenway Holdings (AGH), a Nasdaq-listed Florida company that previously operated golf courses. According to Al Jazeera, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump invest in Powerus through a vehicle called American Ventures, which was expected to hold a 9.9 percent stake in the combined company according to US filings. A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. described him as a passive investor with no operational role and no prior knowledge of the company's Pakistan dealings; Powerus has said the Trump sons 'are not advisers' and have 'no involvement' in its operations. Separately, the Associated Press (via WTOP) reported that government ethics expert Kathleen Clark characterized the arrangement as 'corruption,' stating that 'government decision makers will feel pressure to use contract awards to enrich the president's family.' Former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter has also raised conflict-of-interest concerns regarding the family profiting from a company seeking Pentagon drone contracts. Powerus and the White House have denied any conflict of interest.","heading":"Trump family investment and ethics concerns","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Al Jazeera: Pakistan's new drone deal is with Trump-backed firm also selling to India","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india"},{"credibility":1,"name":"WTOP/AP: New drone maker partly owned by Trump sons hopes to win Pentagon contracts","type":"news_article","url":"https://wtop.com/business-finance/2026/03/new-drone-maker-partly-owned-by-trump-sons-hopes-to-win-pentagon-contracts/"}]},{"content":"Al Jazeera reported that Powerus granted Indian defense manufacturer Paras Defence and Space Technologies an exclusive license to make and sell its Guardian-1 interceptor drone in India, disclosed by Paras on June 30, 2026. Less than three months later, on September 16, 2026, Powerus officials met Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Rawalpindi, and on September 17 the company announced a 'limited procurement order' from Pakistan's Ministry of Defence along with a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which Powerus said was signed with the Pakistan army; Pakistan's military media wing did not confirm the MoU. Powerus stated the MoU creates no purchase obligation and is subject to US export-control approval, and the value of the order was not disclosed. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera questioned why Pakistan, which already manufactures its own drones and buys from China and Turkey, would turn to a young, unlisted firm with no delivery record, and noted that supplying both India and Pakistan—countries that fought a brief conflict in May 2025 involving drones—raises operational-security and political-signaling questions. One analyst, Bilal Khan, said he would withhold judgment pending further Pakistani Ministry of Defence deals with other vendors. The deal is also notable because Powerus co-founder Ziv Marom is described as an Israeli military veteran and the company's M&A vice president, Justin Gans, is a former US Navy SEAL who worked for the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems of America; Pakistan does not recognize Israel.","heading":"Simultaneous Pakistan and India drone deals","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Al Jazeera: Pakistan's new drone deal is with Trump-backed firm also selling to India","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india"}]},{"content":"Powerus CEO Andrew Fox previously founded and served as Chairman and CEO of Charge Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRGE), an EV-charging infrastructure company. Fox resigned as CEO in 2023, with Craig Denson named interim CEO and Amy Hanson taking over as chair; Fox remained a board director and strategic advisor, according to a TipRanks report citing company disclosures. In March 2024, Charge Enterprises filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which Bloomberg reported was intended to hand control of the business to senior lender Arena Investors; the company attributed much of its financial trouble to its dealings with investment adviser Korr Acquisitions Group and its former chairman, Kenneth Orr. Starting in May 2024, multiple law firms announced securities-fraud class action investigations and filings against certain former and current Charge officers and directors, including a case captioned Finkelstein v. Fox et al. (S.D.N.Y., docket 1:24-cv-04056), alleging misleading statements about Charge's relationship with Korr Acquisitions and the company's risk and compliance oversight. According to a Bloomberg Government report, a related lawsuit alleging that executives concealed a liquidity crisis was dismissed as to the claims against Fox. These allegations against Fox are civil claims, several since narrowed or dismissed as to him, and have not resulted in any proven finding of wrongdoing; no SEC enforcement action against Fox was identified in available sources.","heading":"CEO Andrew Fox's prior company: Charge Enterprises bankruptcy and litigation","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"TipRanks: Charge Enterprises announces CEO Andrew Fox resigns, Craig Denson named interim","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/charge-enterprises-announces-ceo-andrew-fox-resigns-craig-denson-named-interim"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Bloomberg: EV Charge Station Maker Charge Enterprises Files Bankruptcy","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-07/ev-charge-station-maker-charge-enterprises-files-bankruptcy"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Businesswire: Rolnick Kramer Sadighi LLP Files Class Action Suit Against Certain Former and Present Officers and Directors of Charge Enterprises","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240611175888/en/Rolnick-Kramer-Sadighi-LLP-Files-Class-Action-Suit-Against-Certain-Former-and-Present-Officers-and-Directors-of-Charge-Enterprises-Inc."},{"credibility":1,"name":"Law360: Finkelstein v. Fox et al. case docket","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.law360.com/cases/6656146340094a13ce3c835b/articles"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Bloomberg Government: Some Charge Enterprises Execs Remain in Suit Over Advisory Deal","type":"news_article","url":"https://news.bgov.com/environment-and-energy/some-charge-enterprises-execs-remain-in-suit-over-advisory-deal"}]},{"content":"Powerus (operating as Autonomous Power Corporation) agreed to merge with Nasdaq-listed Aureus Greenway Holdings (AGH) under a merger agreement reported as signed on March 8, 2026. Under the deal, former Powerus stockholders were expected to hold roughly 83% of the combined company and existing AGH stockholders about 17%, per SEC filing disclosures. The SEC declared the Form S-4 registration statement effective on August 12, 2026, and the merger closed in early October 2026, with the combined company trading as Powerus Corporation under ticker PUSA. The day after the merger closed, Backpack Securities launched a tokenized version of PUSA shares on the Solana blockchain, redeemable 1:1 for the underlying Nasdaq share; reporting from CryptoBriefing and SolanaCompass said the token generated roughly $8 million in trading volume within its first four hours. An on-chain data aggregator, MadeOnSol, flagged that the token's mint authority and freeze authority had not been revoked at the time of listing, meaning the issuer retained the technical ability to mint additional tokens or freeze holder accounts — a standard caution flag for newly issued SPL tokens, not evidence of misuse. This flag comes from a low-authority on-chain scanning tool and should be independently verified against current token state before relying on it.","heading":"Nasdaq listing, reverse merger, and Solana tokenization","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"SolanaCompass: Tokenized Shares of Drone Maker Powerus (PUSA) Go Live on Solana via Backpack Securities","type":"news_article","url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/tokenized-shares-of-drone-maker-powerus-pusa-go-live-on-solana-via-backpack-securities-a-day-after-its-merger-closed"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoBriefing: Powerus tokenized stock PUSA hits $8 million in volume on Solana in four hours","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/powerus-pusa-tokenized-stock-solana-volume/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC EDGAR: Aureus Greenway Holdings Form S-4/A","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002009312/000149315226036713/forms-4a.htm"},{"credibility":3,"name":"MadeOnSol token page for PUSA","type":"on_chain","url":"https://madeonsol.com/token/PUSAG1stksTcAoK9MjinEHUwAYRJsbovywYCk37m6hy"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Al Jazeera: Pakistan's new drone deal is with Trump-backed firm also selling to India","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india"},{"credibility":1,"name":"WTOP/AP: New drone maker partly owned by Trump sons hopes to win Pentagon contracts","type":"news_article","url":"https://wtop.com/business-finance/2026/03/new-drone-maker-partly-owned-by-trump-sons-hopes-to-win-pentagon-contracts/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"TipRanks: Charge Enterprises announces CEO Andrew Fox resigns, Craig Denson named interim","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/charge-enterprises-announces-ceo-andrew-fox-resigns-craig-denson-named-interim"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Bloomberg: EV Charge Station Maker Charge Enterprises Files Bankruptcy","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-07/ev-charge-station-maker-charge-enterprises-files-bankruptcy"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Businesswire: Rolnick Kramer Sadighi LLP Files Class Action Suit Against Certain Former and Present Officers and Directors of Charge Enterprises","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240611175888/en/Rolnick-Kramer-Sadighi-LLP-Files-Class-Action-Suit-Against-Certain-Former-and-Present-Officers-and-Directors-of-Charge-Enterprises-Inc."},{"credibility":1,"name":"Law360: Finkelstein v. Fox et al. case docket","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.law360.com/cases/6656146340094a13ce3c835b/articles"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Bloomberg Government: Some Charge Enterprises Execs Remain in Suit Over Advisory Deal","type":"news_article","url":"https://news.bgov.com/environment-and-energy/some-charge-enterprises-execs-remain-in-suit-over-advisory-deal"},{"credibility":2,"name":"SolanaCompass: Tokenized Shares of Drone Maker Powerus (PUSA) Go Live on Solana via Backpack Securities","type":"news_article","url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/tokenized-shares-of-drone-maker-powerus-pusa-go-live-on-solana-via-backpack-securities-a-day-after-its-merger-closed"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoBriefing: Powerus tokenized stock PUSA hits $8 million in volume on Solana in four hours","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/powerus-pusa-tokenized-stock-solana-volume/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC EDGAR: Aureus Greenway Holdings Form S-4/A","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002009312/000149315226036713/forms-4a.htm"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC EDGAR: Aureus Greenway Holdings Form 424B3","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002009312/000149315226041764/form424b3.htm"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC EDGAR: Aureus Greenway Holdings Form S-4","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002009312/000149315226035181/forms-4.htm"},{"credibility":3,"name":"MadeOnSol token page for PUSA","type":"on_chain","url":"https://madeonsol.com/token/PUSAG1stksTcAoK9MjinEHUwAYRJsbovywYCk37m6hy"}],"summary":"Powerus (Nasdaq: PUSA) is a US drone and counter-drone manufacturer founded around 2025 that went public in October 2026 via a reverse merger into Aureus Greenway Holdings and tokenized its shares on Solana through Backpack Securities. The company has drawn scrutiny over investment by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, ethics-conflict concerns raised by government-ethics experts, and near-simultaneous drone deals with both Pakistan and India. Its CEO, Andrew Fox, previously led Charge Enterprises, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 and faces shareholder securities-fraud class actions; Fox resigned as Charge's CEO in 2023, before the bankruptcy filing, and the allegations against him in that litigation are unproven.","timeline":[{"date":"2023","event":"Andrew Fox resigns as CEO of Charge Enterprises; Craig Denson named interim CEO. Fox remains a board director and strategic advisor.","source":"TipRanks","source_url":"https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/charge-enterprises-announces-ceo-andrew-fox-resigns-craig-denson-named-interim"},{"date":"2024-03-07","date_evidence":"filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on March 7, 2024","event":"Charge Enterprises files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware.","source":"Bloomberg","source_url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-07/ev-charge-station-maker-charge-enterprises-files-bankruptcy"},{"date":"2024-05","event":"Law firms begin announcing securities-fraud investigations and class actions against former and present Charge Enterprises officers and directors, including Andrew Fox.","source":"Businesswire","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240530870564/en"},{"date":"2026-03","event":"New drone maker Powerus, partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, reported to be seeking Pentagon armed-drone contracts.","source":"Associated Press via WTOP","source_url":"https://wtop.com/business-finance/2026/03/new-drone-maker-partly-owned-by-trump-sons-hopes-to-win-pentagon-contracts/"},{"date":"2026-03","date_original":"2026-03-08","event":"Powerus (Autonomous Power Corporation) signs merger agreement with Nasdaq-listed Aureus Greenway Holdings.","source":"SEC EDGAR filings / company press releases","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002009312/000149315226035181/forms-4.htm"},{"date":"2026-08-12","date_evidence":"The S-4 registration statement was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 12, 2026","event":"SEC declares the Aureus Greenway/Powerus Form S-4 registration statement effective.","source":"SEC filing summary","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002009312/000149315226041764/form424b3.htm"},{"date":"2026-06","date_original":"2026-06-30","event":"Indian firm Paras Defence and Space Technologies discloses an exclusive license from Powerus to make and sell its Guardian-1 interceptor drone in India.","source":"Al Jazeera","source_url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india"},{"date":"2026-09-16","date_evidence":"On September 16, 2026, Powerus officials met Field Marshal Asim Munir in Rawalpindi","event":"Powerus officials meet Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Rawalpindi.","source":"Al Jazeera","source_url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india"},{"date":"2026-09","date_original":"2026-09-17","event":"Powerus announces a limited procurement order from Pakistan's Ministry of Defence and an MoU it says was signed with the Pakistan army.","source":"Al Jazeera","source_url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/23/pakistans-new-drone-deal-is-with-trump-backed-firm-also-selling-to-india"},{"date":"2026-10","event":"Aureus Greenway/Powerus merger closes; combined company begins trading on Nasdaq as PUSA.","source":"SolanaCompass","source_url":"https://solanacompass.com/news/tokenized-shares-of-drone-maker-powerus-pusa-go-live-on-solana-via-backpack-securities-a-day-after-its-merger-closed"},{"date":"2026-10","date_original":"2026-10-02","event":"Backpack Securities launches tokenized Powerus (PUSA) shares on Solana, generating a reported $8 million in trading volume within four hours.","source":"CryptoBriefing","source_url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/powerus-pusa-tokenized-stock-solana-volume/"}]},"v":1}