Michigan Bid-Rig Plea Lands Former Asphalt Paving Executive in Prison

A choose has sentenced certainly one of a number of folks charged in a Michigan price-fixing schemes to jail. 

Timothy Baugher, a former president of Pontiac, Mi.-based Asphalt Specialists (ASI), pleaded responsible to conspiring to violate federal antitrust legislation by colluding with F. Allied Building Co. on driveway, massive car parking zone and personal roadway tasks. A choose sentenced him to 6 months in jail and ordered him to pay a effective of $20,000.

Federal prosecutors filed a prison criticism towards tASI  in September in federal courtroom in Detroit. The Dept. of Justice charged Baugher with orchestrating a conspiracy from July 2017 to Might 2021 that together with “the co-conspirators coordinated one another’s bid costs in order that the agreed-upon dropping firm would submit deliberately non-competitive bids” that have been intentionally costly to make sure the “successful” firm secured the deal.

“The bids gave clients the misunderstanding of competitors when, in truth, the co-conspirators had already determined amongst themselves who would win the contracts” federal prosecutors cost. 

By designating a winner and sharing pricing info, the co-conspirators secured $17.3 million in gross sales and victimized 46 group, prosecutors claimed.

In keeping with the Dept. of Justice, 4 different people have pleaded responsible for his or her roles within the scheme and await sentencing. ASI’s former homeowners and Baugher’s bosses, brothers Bruce Israel and Daniel Israel, might be sentenced as quickly as Might or June. Two staff of a 3rd asphalt paving contractor additionally pleaded responsible for his or her roles within the scheme.

The division is prone to search jail sentences, earlier circumstances have proven, with the time period depending on the quantity of cooperation supplied to the prosecutors and greenback quantities of the illegally received earnings.

Baugher waived his rights to a jury trial and sure appeals and agreed to cooperate with federal investigations . His plea settlement describes his function and a profession arc that started at ASI in gross sales and rose to president and half proprietor. In 2019 he held 4% of the non-voting inventory.

ASI earned $3.8 million from tasks rigged with Allied and $13.5 million from different unlawful worth fixing conspiracies, totaling $17.3 million. 

As of April 2025, not one of the 46 victimized organizations seem to have filed civil lawsuits in search of to recuperate overcharges. Federal anti-trust legislation permits victims 4 years from the date they found or ought to have found the bid-rigging to file a civil antitrust lawsuit.

Attributable to Baugher’s necessary function within the alleged crimes, prosecutors included in his plea deal a sentencing pointers vary of 10 to 16 months of imprisonment and a effective of $173,509 to $867,548. 

Nevertheless, Decide Gershwin Drain’s sentencing memorandum really useful a six-month jail time period, a $20,000 effective and a $100 particular evaluation and mirrored a considerable discount due to Baugher’s cooperation. 

Different people concerned within the bid-rigging have additionally plead responsible. ASI, as an organization, plead responsible to 2 counts and fined $6.5 million. In a separate however concurrent scheme with Allied, one other firm concerned, Al’s Asphalt acquired a $795,661.81 effective. The Justice Dept. has really useful a $733,000 effective for Allied.