The former president of a Michigan asphalt company was sentenced to prison for colluding with other companies to rig bids in their favor to gain customer contracts.
Timothy Baugher, former president of Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists LLC (ASI), was sentenced to six months in jail and a $20,000 fine for his role in the bid-rigging scheme on Wednesday, April 16, according to a news release from the United States Department of Justice.
According to the announcement, Baugher is one of seven individuals accused as part of the DOJ’s ongoing antitrust investigation. The inquiry has accused three companies, including ASI, and imposed criminal fines totaling more than $8.1 million.
Baugher pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to conspiring with Allied Construction Company Inc. to manipulate bids in their favor, according to the DOJ.
According to prosecutors, the two companies worked together to secure customer contracts in turn. When making bids for services, one company would purposely propose non-competitive prices so that the customer would select the other company’s bid.
According to the DOJ, Baugher participated in the bidding conspiracy from July 2017 to May 2021. Another former ASI official pleaded guilty in January 2024 for their role in the plot with Allied.
“There is nothing impressive, just, or indeed lawful about rigging bids with your competitors to ‘win’ a contract,” stated Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
Investigators requested anybody with information about this case to call the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.