The Big Lie: How Five Friends Tricked the Government Out of Millions

They pretended to be a minority-owned business to get contracts. They lied for years. They stole millions from the government. Now, they are paying the price.

The Scheme

The men owned a surveying company called Surveying Solutions Inc. (SSI). They told the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) that Andrew Semenchuk was the sole owner. But that was not true. All five men owned the company equally. They used this lie to get more contracts and charge MDOT for fake expenses.

The Fake Companies

The men also created three fake companies. They used these companies to charge MDOT for things they did not need to pay for. For example:

• They charged MDOT for renting equipment from one of their fake companies.
• They charged MDOT for IT services that were not real.
• They even paid their wives for work they did not do.

The Lies

The men lied for a long time. They started lying in 2001 when they created SSI. They kept lying until 2019 when the FBI caught them. In total, they stole about $15 million from MDOT. That is a lot of money.

The Consequences

Two of the men, Jeffrey Bartlett and Andrew Semenchuk, have already been sentenced to prison. They will each spend 15 months in prison. They will also have to pay back the money they stole. The other three men will be sentenced soon.

The men's lies were complicated. But in the end, they were not smart enough. The FBI caught them. Now, they will have to face the consequences of their actions.