I had a bit of info, and I followed up on Jenn Budd’s tip and this is a summary of what I have:

The Company

Sabot Technologies Inc (dba Sabot Consulting) is a Folsom, CA consulting firm founded in 2000. Started as IT consulting, but pivoted to something they call "Criminal Justice Compliance" — and specifically, an "Office of ICE Integration" service they market to sheriffs.

Their pitch is explicit: they help sheriffs set up ICE detention partnerships (IGSAs), handle compliance with detention standards, and — this is a direct quote — "manage the noise" from "NGO scrutiny" and "press inquiries." They literally market themselves as helping sheriffs profit from detention while managing political blowback.

The Revolving Door Team

It's not just Tae Johnson. The whole Criminal Justice team is former federal and state detention officials:

Tae D. Johnson — Acting ICE Director Jan 2021 - July 2023. Before that: Deputy Executive Associate Director for ERO ($4.4B budget, 7,900 employees). Before that: Assistant Director for ERO Custody Management — directly overseeing ~40,000 daily detainees across ~250 facilities. 31 years ICE/INS total.

Daniel P. Marquith — Former Deputy Chief of Staff at DHS (per ZoomInfo). 20+ years law enforcement.

Lisa McDermott — 23 years Federal Bureau of Prisons, retired 2019 as Health Service Administrator at FDC SeaTac. Then "Operations Director in private sector" with oversight of ICE/DHS facilities. Now at Sabot.

Juan C. (JC) Garcia — 30+ years federal law enforcement, detention management, homeland security.

Daniel L. Godinez — 32 years California Department of Corrections.

Mr. Carvo — 30 years CDCR, "instrumental" in Armstrong/Valdivia/Rutherford class action litigation responses.

This is the team that ran federal and state detention systems now advising local sheriffs on how to join the detention business.

They're Not Just Consulting — They Want to Build Facilities

ACLU FOIA litigation (filed Sept 2024) turned up documents showing Sabot submitted proposals to ICE's RFI for detention expansion — alongside GEO Group, CoreCivic, and MTC.

But here's the kicker from the April 2025 ACLU release: Sabot submitted a proposal to construct new detention facilities in Utah and Wyoming. The proposal (heavily redacted) cites "potentially problematic statutory requirements" in Utah law and includes a map of Circuit Court boundaries — they're thinking about legal jurisdiction when siting new facilities.

This isn't just consulting. They want to own the infrastructure.

Confirmed Client: Glades County, FL

Sabot featured Glades County as a "Client Profile" in their newsletter. ICE announced the reinstated IGSA with Glades County on April 3, 2025 — up to 500 beds. Long-standing detention facility.

They're also hiring: job posting for "Project Manager - Detention & Corrections" in Laredo, TX. Active expansion.

The Legal Question

Under 18 USC 207, Johnson faced a 1-year cooling-off period before communicating with ICE "with intent to influence" (ended July 2024), plus a lifetime ban on specific matters he personally worked on as Acting Director.

GAO also found (Feb 2023) that Johnson's tenure as Acting Director after Nov 16, 2021 violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. DHS disagreed but GAO said his actions after that date should be "nullified."