Michigan company accused of lying to Department of Transportation to receive work contracts
BAY CITY, Mich. (FOX 2) - An owner and former owner of a Michigan surveying company are facing charges after authorities allege they lied to the Michigan and U.S. Departments of Transportation to get contracts.
Andrew Semenchuk and Adam Ball, former owners and executives of Standish-based Surveying Solutions, Inc. (SSI) and Jeffrey Bartlett, a current owner and executive, are charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Authorities say they made false statements, including claims that SSI qualified as a disadvantaged business to trick MDOT into granting SSI contract preferences. The company was awarded millions of dollars in construction and surveying contracts, which were funded almost entirely by federal funds.
The men are also accused of reporting false and fraudulent employee costs, and false and fraudulent equipment, real estate, and IT expenses which artificially inflated the payments MDOT made to SSI.
"Every year USDOT entrusts millions of taxpayer dollars into programs intended to support and improve our community’s infrastructure, including the maintenance of our highways system. When the integrity of USDOT’s contracting system is damaged by individuals who cheat to obtain contracts and fraudulently inflate the expenses and costs they claim for reimbursement, the public trust is broken, and taxpayer funds are squandered. The charges in this indictment serve as a promise to the taxpaying public that such violations of the public trust will not be tolerated," said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.