Executives Jeffrey Bartlett, Brian Bartlett, and former executive Andrew Semenchuk of Surveying Solutions Inc., a Michigan-based surveying firm, have entered guilty pleas for their involvement in a scheme defrauding the United States Department of Transportation, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The three men from Standish, Michigan, took advantage of federal funds through contracts awarded by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Over a span of eight years, beginning February 2011, their company received millions from agreements largely backed by the federal government.
According to a statement made by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the fraudulent activities included overbilling for fictitious employee and IT costs, padding equipment and lease expenses, and concealing true ownership; the combined efforts allowed them to unjustifiably draw millions from the MDOT, adding this misconduct to the oft-cited list of corruption within industry ranks. Despite their position and years of accumulated trust, greed eclipsed integrity as the executives lined their pockets at the expense of governmental trust and competitive fairness.
Special Agent Cheyvoryea Gibson, leading the FBI's Michigan Division, emphasized the damage to public faith such deceit causes and praised the investigative team's diligence in uncovering the financial machinations designed to exploit the contracting process for selfish gain. Anthony Licari, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General for the Midwestern Region, reiterated the commitment to maintaining equity, declaring an ongoing vigilance against any fraud that threatens DOT-funded initiatives.
The collaborative investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and USDOT's Office of Inspector General led to the prosecution by Assistant United States Attorneys Karen L. Reynolds, T. Patrick Martin, William Vailliencourt, and K. Craig Welkener.
