Contracter charged for improperly billing city of Detroit over $1M in demolition program
(CBS DETROIT) - A contractor has been charged in connection to billing the city of Detroit over $1 million for backfill dirt used on demolished properties that was acquired from contaminated sources, at no cost.
David MacDonald, 50, of Howell, has been charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and 11 counts of false pretenses.
He is accused of improperly billing the city in 2017 while he was employed by the Den-Man company, leading its demolition program.
MacDonald was responsible for backfilling demolition sites with dirt obtained from approved sources that the company was contracted to work on in Detroit. The company could then bill the city for the cost of the dirt.
According to the Michigan Attorney General's Office, MacDonald claimed he paid for the dirt used at these sites that he actually obtained at no cost, lied about where the dirt was from and then billed the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
The company then received $1,148,513.61 in reimbursement funds, and the dirt used is considered contaminated.
"These crimes, a scam against the people of Detroit and abuse of public funds, amount to public harm for private greed," Nessel said. "We have a responsibility to protect public funds from abuse, and to protect already vulnerable neighborhoods from environmental attacks. I am grateful to the SIGTARP team for their work with our office."
The attorney general's office says the Detroit Land Bank Authority has agreed to repay $1 million due to monitoring issues in the program.
