Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan | Department of Justice
Jeffrey Bartlett, Brian Bartlett, and Andrew Semenchuk have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) through contracts administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The three men are current and former owners and executives of Surveying Solutions Inc. (SSI), a surveying company based in Standish, Michigan.
According to information disclosed during their plea hearings, from February 2011 through July 2019, SSI was awarded millions of dollars in highway construction contracts by MDOT. These contracts were largely funded by federal money from USDOT. Prosecutors stated that Jeffrey Bartlett, Brian Bartlett, Andrew Semenchuk, and two others engaged in fraudulent overbilling practices. This included submitting false employee and technology costs, inflating equipment and lease expenses, and hiding the true ownership structure of SSI to support their scheme. As a result, MDOT made significant overpayments to SSI which were then distributed among those involved.
Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office said: “Today’s guilty plea highlights a calculated attempt to exploit the competitive contracting process for personal enrichment. Fraud of this nature erodes public trust, undermines the integrity of government programs, and unfairly disadvantages honest businesses. I want to commend the dedicated agents of our Bay City Resident Agency for their thorough and meticulous investigative efforts. The FBI in Michigan remains steadfast in our commitment to work alongside our law enforcement partners to uncover complex financial crimes and ensure those responsible are held fully accountable under the law.”
Anthony Licari, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General for the Midwestern Region added: “Contracting with the United States government demands fairness and integrity. Our agents will continue to collaborate closely with law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to identify and dismantle fraud schemes that undermine public trust and compromise DOT-funded programs in Michigan and across the nation.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and USDOT’s Office of Inspector General led the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Karen L. Reyolds, T. Patrick Martin, William Vailliencourt, and K. Craig Welkener are prosecuting.
