Asphalt Specialists LLC, Bid Rigging, Michigan 2024

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Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists LLC Sentenced for Bid Rigging in Michigan Asphalt Industry

A Pontiac-based company has been sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $6.5 million for its role in conspiracies to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in the state of Michigan. Asphalt Specialists LLC pleaded guilty to its conduct on January 30.

According to court documents and proceedings, the company participated in a conspiracy with Al’s Asphalt Paving Company Inc. (Al’s Asphalt) and its employees from March 2013 through November 2018. The company also participated in a separate conspiracy with F. Allied Construction Company Inc. (Allied) and its employees from July 2017 through May 2021.

Each conspiracy operated in much the same way: the co-conspirators coordinated each other’s bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids. These bids gave customers the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators had already decided among themselves who would win the contracts.

‘When companies choose to cheat rather than compete, they can expect to pay substantial, punitive criminal fines,’ said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Manish Kumar of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. ‘The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will not hesitate in our shared mission to ensure those who violate the antitrust laws do not benefit from their crimes, particularly when those crimes affect critical infrastructure for our country.’

The sentence imposed on Asphalt Specialists LLC should serve as a significant deterrent for anyone who chooses corporate greed over open and fair competition for transportation projects, said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Licari of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Midwestern Region.

Asphalt Specialists LLC is one of three companies that have been charged as part of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the asphalt paving services industry. Al’s Asphalt pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of $795,661.81 on July 31. Allied also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Six individuals also have been charged as part of the investigation.

DOT-OIG and USPS OIG investigated the case. The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office is prosecuting the case.