Longtime USAID Contractor Embroiled in Scandal Fires Top Managers, Others

International Relief and Development Inc., once one of the largest nonprofit contractors working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, has dismissed its board of directors and laid off 21 employees in an effort to stabilize the struggling organization, senior managers said Friday. The managers are trying to lift a Jan. 26 suspension issued by USAID, preventing the nonprofit group from receiving federal work. The agency reported that it had found evidence of “serious misconduct” at IRD, including allegations of unchecked spending and mismanagement in humanitarian and stabilization programs.