The Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists LLC received a $6.5 million criminal sentence for its involvement in bid-rigging schemes for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan.
According to court documents, the company admitted its wrongdoing on Jan. 30, 2024, as it engaged in a separate conspiracy with F. Allied Construction Company Inc. Al’s Asphalt and its employees from March 2013 through November 2018.
Between July 2017 and May 2021, the company engaged in a distinct conspiracy alongside F. Allied Construction Company Inc. and its employees.
According to court documents, both conspiracies functioned in a similar manner. The individuals involved in the conspiracies collaborated to manipulate bid prices, ensuring that the predetermined losing company would submit bids that were intentionally non-competitive.
Customers were misled by the bids, which created a deceptive sense of competition. However, the truth was that the co-conspirators had already predetermined the winners of the contracts among themselves.
Asphalt Specialists LLC, along with two other companies, is currently facing charges in an ongoing federal antitrust investigation. The investigation focuses on allegations of bid rigging and other anticompetitive behavior within the asphalt paving services industry.
Al’s Asphalt entered a guilty plea on July 31 and received an order to pay a $795,661.81 fine. Allied has pleaded guilty and is awaiting punishment. The probe has also charged six others.
